Shake it Up
by annetaco
Summary: AU Now that his father is dead, Gaara really needs someone to lean on, and Sasuke has such a comfortable shoulder...but will Neji's obsession get in the way of their love? SasuGaa, onesided NejiGaa...I Dreamed I Was Dying THE EXCITING CONCLUSION is up!
1. The Replacement

**OK So, I am putting off updating my other story by starting a new one. Makes since, right?hehe**

**Title: Shake it Up (Teaser)**

**Rated: M for language, and who knows, maybe some sex later...**

**Warnings: AU! I used all of my favorite authors' best methods and plot ideas and twirled them all into one mega-fic. It is AU, but I really tried hard to stick to the ages and make people in-character and everyone who is dead (at this point) is dead and all that stuff. **

**Spoilers: There may be spoilers (but not many you would recognize) up to the manga.**

* * *

After bonding over a Popsicle stick project in 2nd grade, "Team Seven," as they named themselves (they were all seven when they met) became practically inseparable. But high school came around, and the pink-headed Haruno Sakura that we have all come to love (cough) realized she needed to hang out with more girl friends and spent less and less time with Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

It was the first day of high school, and Team Seven sat huddled together, there backs against their lockers. Sasuke was doodling in his notebook. Naruto was eating breakfast (ramen of course.) And Sakura was scanning the hallways, seemingly looking for someone. After catching the eye of an extremely irritating blond and nodding, she looked over at her two best friends sitting beside her.

"Um…guys? I'm gonna go hang out with Ino," said Sakura hesitantly as she stood up and walked away.

"Sasuke, I think we've been abandoned."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"What're we supposed to do now?"

"I dunno."

"…"

"…"

"Wanna make out?"

Sasuke looked up from his notebook and stared at Naruto. "Why did you suggest that?" Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"I dunno."

"I think that us being alone could be a problem…for my sake, at least." Sasuke looked searchingly around the partially-filled halls of Konoha High. He caught a glimpse of something similar: green eyes. "Hey you," he said, pointing to the lonely looking kid who was gazing out the window, "Yeah, you with the tattoo, come here."

* * *

And so, Sasuke and Naruto replaced Sakura with Gaara. I mean they both had green eyes, and they both had red hair (Sakura's was pink.) It's like the same thing, right?**

* * *

**

Well, R&R, but even if you don't, I'll keep writing cuz I've got several ideas bouncing around in my head and some that I even wrote down.

_GASP_


	2. The Invite

normal

_flashback_

* * *

Ring. Ring.

"Sasuke, can you get that? I'm in the shower."

Ring. Ring. Grumble. Grumble.

" 'lo?"

"Hi Sasuke!"

Sakura's high pitched squeal made Sasuke flinch away from the phone. "Sakura, why the fuck are you calling so early!"

"Um, it's two o'clock in the afternoon…"

"Shut up."

"Anywho, Sasuke, I was just calling to tell you that Ino and I are throwing a "start junior year with a bang" party at my house tonight."

"Sounds great," Sasuke muttered sarcastically as he rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "Can I go back to bed now?"

"Yeah, sure. Will you tell Gaara and Naruto for me?"

"Mm hmm. I dunno if Gaara is going to come though…"

* * *

_It was the end of their first day of high school, and Sasuke and Naruto were walking home. Sasuke was looking down at his feet as Naruto ranted on about their new friend._

"_What are we supposed to call each other now, 'Team Fifteen?' This is so stupid!"_

"_Well, it's better than what you suggested!" mumbled Sasuke to himself. "By the way, you weren't serious, were you? The last thing I need is sexual tension."_

"_Haha, no I was kidding," smiled Naruto, resting his hands on the back of his head as he looked forward. "I was just trying to get a rise outta you, it's so hard to do these days."_

"_I was thinking that we should probably ditch our name anyway."_

"_Hm? Why?"_

* * *

"His dad died last month."

* * *

"_Don't you think it is about time we started growing up? I mean, we are in high school."_

* * *

"Oh, well, tell him anyway. He could probably use a cheering-up, you know?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, see you later then."

"Bye."

Sasuke put the phone down and flopped back into bed, putting the pillow over his head to block out any more disturbances.

* * *

Yay! Second teaser! Well, I know that it barely even counts, it is so short. But there promises to be a nice long _partay_ chapter coming up, so don't complain. By the way, R&R!

O yeah, it was really bothering me in chapter one that I used the word "similar" and it should have been "familiar."

Flame me all you want for it, english is my first language.


	3. Start Junior Year with a BANG

**ilinerboy: **hey

**Auto response from numberoneuchiha: **party at sakura's tonite…IM me if you need a ride.

**ilinerboy: **…i need a ride

**numberoneuchiha: **are you sure you wanna come?

**numberoneuchiha returned at 4:38:05 PM.**

**ilinerboy: **yea

**numberoneuchiha: **ok, is Naruto coming too?

**ilinerboy: **i dunno

**numberoneuchiha: **well, call him, and ill meet you guys out front around quarter til eight. you wanna stay overnite?

**ilinerboy: **ok

**numberoneuchiha: **well…gtg shower, c ya later

**ilinerboy: **k, buh bye

Sasuke lied. He had already showered. But he didn't want to talk to Gaara and risk saying something wrong. Sasuke knew all too well what it was like to lose a parent. He remembered how cold he had become, how uptight and tense. He blew up at the smallest thing. Luckily for Sasuke, it was around that time that he met Sakura and Naruto. Without Team Seven, he would have fallen apart.

Sasuke knew he had to be there for Gaara now, but he was afraid.

* * *

"I'm going out," said Sasuke mechanically at his brother's back as he grabbed for his keys and started for the door. 

"Hold on," said Itachi, "pretend for a second that I'm your brother." Sasuke scowled, and kept walking. "Where are you going?"

"To a party."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Yes." Sasuke slammed the door on his brother. Itachi sighed as he heard the car start and back out of the driveway.

"I guess that's nothing less then I deserve," he said to himself as he turned back to his book, _How to get your Brother to Love you _by Tony Robbins. "Maybe I shouldn't have skipped chapter four…" he whispered, flipping through the pages back to the table of contents.

* * *

As soon as he hit the highway, Sasuke cranked up the radio. 

_Summer has come and passed_

_The innocent can never last_

_Wake me up when September ends._

As he drove into the parking lot, the wheel of his black mustang grazed the curb. "Shit," he hissed under his breath. Sasuke stopped in front of the apartment building and honked the horn a couple times.

Ten minutes later, Sasuke was brought out of his daze when Naruto banged on the passenger's window. "Shotgun!"

Sasuke watched Gaara through his rearview mirror as the redhead climbed into the backseat. "Is everyone ready?"

"Alright! Party time!"

"Gaara?"

"Yeah."

"Crank it up, Sasuke!" yelled Naruto as he turned the volume up as loud as it could go and put his feet up on the dashboard. Sasuke and Gaara rolled their eyes.

* * *

Sakura opened the door. "Yay!" she squealed, obviously a little tipsy. "Come on in, make yourselves comfortable," she laughed, passing the three of them each a beer. 

Gaara declined as he took a seat on the stairs. Sasuke sat next to him.

Naruto, however, ran over to the stereo and searched around the ground for the right CD. "B-E-P we rappin' it, baby!" he screeched as he cranked up the volume, grabbed Hinata, and starting twisting to the tunes on top of the coffee table.

"Oh, god," said Sasuke and Gaara together as they hid their faces behind their hands.

"Gaara, what are _you _doing here?" said a cheery voice in front of them. Gaara looked up, only to be greeted by his sister and her infamous fishnet stockings and Princess Leia hairstyle.

"Temari…what are you doing here? You don't even go to our school anymore."

"Just 'cuz I'm old doesn't mean I can't have a good time," she laughed as she squatted down to meet Sasuke's eyes. "Oh, little Sasuke, I have always wished that you were a little…taller," she smiled as she waved her hand above the Uchiha's head.

"Yeah, I'm kind of sitting down."

"So, your like what, five five, five six?"

"Five eight," he growled.

"Still, a little too…small…for me."

Gaara slapped his forehead. "Temari, stop being stupid."

The blond patted her brother's head before walking out back to join some seniors in the hot tub.

"Sorry about that, Sasuke," said Gaara drearily.

"Don't worry about it," sighed Sasuke, "We can't help who we are related to."

* * *

"OK everyone, let's play truth or da…" 

Sakura's speech was cut off by a black flash rushing by her and into the closet.

"Um…Sasuke?" said Sakura hesitantly, knocking on the door. "Don't you wanna play?"

"Who wants to play truth or dare? We're in high school!"

"Come on, Sasuke, last year's game wasn't so bad!"

* * *

"_OK, Sakura, truth or dare?" asked Naruto innocently._

"_Dare!" the cherry-headed girl shouted with enthusiasm._

"_I dare you to make out with Ino!"_

_Sakura stuck out her tongue in disgust. "I'm not going to do that! She's my best friend!"_

"_So, you're too chicken?"_

_Sakura glared at him. "Fine, I'll do it. But then you have to make out with Sasuke!"_

"_There's no way I am making out with that loser," growled Sasuke from the armchair._

"_Oh, I have my ways of persuasion," grinned Naruto. "There is no way I am backing out of a dare!"_

* * *

"Thanks to you, I am scarred for life!" Sasuke's muffled voice shouted from inside the closet. The click of a lock was heard from behind the door. Sakura rammed her shoulder into it a couple times, before giving up. 

"OK, fine. But anyway, after what happened at last year's party," Sakura took a minute to glance at Naruto and smirk, "Weapons of restraint are banned from the game. This includes ropes, chairs, chains, and duct tape."

"Damn," said Naruto, snapping his fingers.

"Since it's my party, I will start." Sakura looked around the room for her first victim. "Chouji!"

"Hm?" Chouji looked up from behind a bowl of Doritos.

"Truth or dare?"

"Um…dare, I s'pose."

"OK, I dare you to drink a diet pepsi."

Vomit.

Gulp.

Vomit.

"God, that was cruel, Sakura," whimpered Chouji as he threw aside the empty can of diet pepsi and wiped his mouth. "Hmmmm…Ino! Truth or dare?"

The blond hesitated. "…Truth."

"Out of everyone at this party, who would you want to make out with the most?"

"Why, Sasuke, of course," she said, smiling and giggling as she looked over at the closet. "What a silly question." Chouji frowned and went back to his bowl of Doritos. _They_ would surely never abandon him. "Um…Lee, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" he shouted and gave her a thumbs up.

"I dare you to call Gai and confess your feelings for him!"

"But…but…" Lee's face turned bright red, "I don't have feelings for him!"

"Well, then, make some up."

Lee smiled suddenly. "I don't have Gai's number!"

"I do," said Sakura, handing Lee her cell-phone, "He was a teacher on one of my field trips last year, and he gave all the students his cell-phone number in case of emergencies."

Lee frowned. "All right…" he sighed, defeated, as he dialed the number. "Um…Gai? It's Lee…yeah, my summer's been great…yeah…I just wanted to tell you that…I LOVE YOU!" Lee threw the phone back at Sakura as everyone in the room burst out laughing. "Haha, Sakura. Now it's time for revenge." Lee's eyes burned as he smiled at her evilly. "Truth or dare?"

"Um…dare?"

"Heh heh. I dare you to have a breath-holding contest with me!"

"Wha…" Before Sakura could say anything, Lee caught her in a fiery kiss. Sakura soon realized what Lee had meant and started doing everything in her power to win the battle.

Grinding? No…Slip of the tongue? No…Biting the lip? "Aha!" she yelled in triumph as Lee gasped and pulled away, putting his hand to his lip to feel the blood. "You may have surprised me, Lee, but no one can beat me at a breath-holding contest!" She gave him a thumbs up, which distracted him from nursing his wound and made him smile. "OK, next victim," she grinned as she looked around the room.

* * *

"_He could probably use a cheering-up, you know?"_

* * *

"Gaara…truth or dare?" The redhead had been examining his shoes and was caught off-guard. 

"Dare," he said monotonously as he played with his shoelaces.

Smirk.

"I dare you to make out with Sasuke!"

"What?" cried Ino. "Sakura, you always dare guys to make out with Sasuke! What is the deal?"

"Come on, Ino. He's obviously not interested in any of the girls here. We might as well have some fun with him."

"I'm not even playing, you losers!" Sasuke's voice came from the closet.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Your no fun, Sasuke. But fine. Then Gaara, I dare you to make out with Naruto!"

Glare.

"I would rather die…" Suddenly, Sasuke leapt from the closet, jumped on Gaara, and stuck his tongue in the redhead's mouth just long enough for it to count as "making out."

"I just remembered!" Sasuke shouted excitedly, "Itachi said we had to be home by…" he glanced at the clock, "eight-thirty!"

He grabbed Naruto and Gaara's arms and ran for the door.

"OK that was weird. I guess that means…Lee! Truth or dare!"

"Uh-oh…um" gulp "dare?"

"I dare you to wax your eyebrows!"

"What?"

"It'll be easy! I have this bikini waxing kit upstairs in the bathroom that would work wonders!"

"Um…"

"In fact, I should give you a whole make-over!"

"…Is that a dare?"

"Yep!" Sakura grabbed Lee's hand and pulled him upstairs.

* * *

Two hours later, Sakura and Lee descending the stairs only to witness a strange scene. Kiba and Shino were passed out on top of each other, an empty bottle of vodka in each of their hands, and Hinata was blushing as she was forced to do impressions of Lee in front of the remaining conscious crowd. 

"Haha, Hinata, that sounds just like…Lee!" Ino looked over Hinata's shoulders and smiled as Sakura and Lee stood at the bottom step. The former thick-brows himself now had neatly trimmed lines across his forehead. His hair was free from the shiny gunk that got it to stick in that horrible egg-shaped style. His lower-eyelashes that had been so disturbing to passers-by were now hidden with a touch of eyeliner. And…"Changed clothes?"

"Oh, come on, Ino. Green jumpsuits are not exactly 'in' now!" Sakura laughed. "He looks much better in jeans and a tee-shirt."

"I was talking about you, Sakura, weren't you wearing something else before?"

"Um…no?"

"Yes you were, I helped you pick out your outfit, remember?"

"Oh…um…" Sakura and Lee both turned red. "Styles are always changing, you know."

* * *

The car ride back to Sasuke's house was an awkward one. 

"I can't believe you made out with Gaara!" exclaimed Naruto, wide-eyed.

"Come on, you could barely call it that…"

"Tongue in throat. What else would you call it?"

"Shut up."

"Anyway, Naruto, it got us out of that lame party," said Gaara nonchalantly from the backseat. "So I'm not complaining."

"Case closed," whispered Sasuke under his breath as he pulled into his driveway.

* * *

**Holy crap, that is a long chapter. For me, anyway. (Song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day, and "Pump It" By Black Eyed Peas)**

**But, I hope youliked it. There really hasn't been much of a plot yet, but school hasn't even started. I plan on taking them through their whole entire junior year (hopefully.)**

**I know there are a few un-answered questions, like with Gaara's father and the Uchiha brothers' relationship and Sasuke's parents and Gaara's and Naruto's living conditions and why they were calling a teacher by his first name.**

**They will all be answered, I swear! Just give the story some time.**

**If you have any questions, you can review or e-mail me, and I will be happy to answer them (unless it is giving something away.)**

**Anywho, please R&R!**

**(btw, little teaser...CHAPTER FOUR: OPERATION TORTURE ITACHI)**


	4. Operation Torture Itachi

_flashback_

o, and in case i havent said it, I DONT OWN NARUTO

* * *

Before anymore is said on the subject of Itachi, I'm afraid that an explanation is in order. 

You see, Itachi was once believed to be a genius. He graduated high school when he was ten years old, and had a promising future ahead of him.

Unfortunately for the oldest son of the Uchihas, it was not meant to be. Itachi never learned to "just say no" to drugs, and soon he became involved with a dangerous drug gang that called themselves, "Akatsuki."

His hopes and dreams soon diminished, andItachi was sucked deeper and deeper into a life that he would soon regret.

After a drug deal went wrong, the unsatisfied customers decided to take their anger out on the Uchihas, and one night, they snuck into the Uchiha mansion and slaughtered Itachi's parents, leaving him alone with a little brother to take care of.

After that fateful night, Itachi decided to make something of himself. He enrolled in a community college, and soon won himself several scholarships, and was able to achieve a Masters Degree in Chemical Science. In fact (to the dismay of his younger brother) Itachi was starting his first job at Konoha High as the new Chemistry teacher this year.

Now, Sasuke had looked up to his brother. But when Itachi first began to mix with the wrong kind of people and started acting like a real prick, the younger Uchiha (who was only five at the time) lost all respect for his older brother.

"_Sasuke," said his father two years later andthe morning before he was killed, "Don't be like your brother."_

"_No shit, Sherlock."_

_Glare._

_Smirk. "I mean, yes sir."_

And although Sasuke was not aware of the real reason his parents had been killed, their death was the final brick in the wall between the Uchiha brothers. And so far, nothing had been able to knock it down.

So we begin this chapter with Itachi. He had fallen asleep on the couch, with his headphones on, listening to a Tony Robbins CD "Brother Bonding For Idiots."

* * *

Sasuke, Naruto, and Gaara walked in the front door at nine o'clock. 

"What a lame party," whined Naruto as the three of them leaned over the kitchen counter. "We didn't even get to do anything fun. Or at least _I _didn't." The blond winked at Sasuke, who rolled his eyes.

"Shut up Naruto. It was all I could think to do to distract everyone so we could escape."

"Just keep telling yourself that, Sasuke." Gaara smacked Naruto's head.

"The only reason you're complaining is because you didn't get to make-out with Sasuke this year." The blonde's face just broke into a grin.

"Maybe so," he said as he poked Sasuke's side with his elbow. "How 'bout it, Sasuke?" Sasuke put his forehead in his hand.

"Why am I friends with you, again?"

"That…was cold."

"Whatever."

"Why don't we have a party of our own, since you two were so hasty to leave the other one?"

"What do you suggest we do at our 'party'?" asked Gaara, raising an eyebrow.

"Um…chill out in the hot tub on the balcony and get wasted?"

"Whatever gets you to shut up," said Sasuke and Gaara to themselves.

* * *

"You guys, this is boring!" screeched Naruto three hours later as he slowly hobbled back inside. "We haven't done anything but have a couple beers." 

"Hey, I had, like, twenty!" gurgled Sasuke as he wobbled into the living room from the balcony. Gaara (who hadn't had a thing to drink) rolled his eyes. "Hey, we should do something fun!"

"Thank you!" smiled Naruto and slapped Sasuke on the shoulder. "Now you're talking! What did you have in mind?"

Sasuke looked thoughtful for a minute, before his eyes fell onto his brother, who was still dozing on the couch. "Let's torture Itachi!"

"Roger that, captain," hiccupped the blond as he saluted Sasuke. "Operation Torture Itachi begins now!"

* * *

The three of them (Gaara decided he should supervise) slowly crept towards the sleeping figure of Itachi. The older Uchiha let out a little snore, and Team Seven quickly jumped behind the couch. 

"What's the game plan?" whispered Naruto to Sasuke. The raven-haired boy smirked and pulled out a pack of permanent markers, super glue, and an eyelash curler.

"OK, Gaara, you do his makeup with _this_," he instructed as he handed the redhead a black marker and a red one. "Naruto, you make his nails look nice and pretty," he smiled as he handed the blond a purple marker. "And make sure they _stay_ pretty," said Sasuke as he handed Naruto the super glue. "And I…I am going to chop off his toes!" The younger Uchiha branded the eyelash curler like a sword, and started to edge towards his brother's bare feet. Gaara and Naruto stared at Sasuke for a second, and then the blond let out a little nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his head.

* * *

The three began working carefully on their victim. Gaara, having finished Itachi's "lipstick" rather hurriedly, carefully applied a thick line of "eyeliner" to Itachi's eyes, while Naruto colored in his fingernails purple, and then covered them in super glue. But Sasuke was having a little trouble with the toes. 

There was no way to cut off his toes without waking up Itachi, so Sasuke had to go search in the kitchen for some duck tape, so his brother wouldn't wiggle too much.

* * *

When Itachi was firmly taped down to the couch (and miraculously still asleep, I might add) he cautiously put the eyelash curler around his brother's big toe and took a deep breath. 

"Here goes nothing," he said to himself, and pushed down, hard. Itachi jerked in his sleep. "It…didn't work," said Sasuke, sounding disappointed.

"Try a smaller toe," hissed Naruto as he applied another coat of super glue to Itachi's fingers.

Sasuke did try. He tried on all ten of Itachi's toes. But all this merited was a few little jerks from his brother and red rings around Itachi's toes.

"Dammit, it won't go all the way through."

"O well," said Gaara in a bored voice as he put the finishing touches on Itachi's eyes. "I'm done."

"Me too," whispered Naruto, excited.

"I guess I'm the only one who didn't complete his mission."

"Don't feel too bad, Sasuke," smiled Naruto as he put his arms around his friends' shoulders. "It was a job well done, nonetheless. I mean, look how pretty your brother is now." Team Seven admired their handy-work for a second before they all burst out laughing.

"Ha ha, he looks better than ever," giggled Sasuke as he clutched his stomach in laughter.

"I…agree," said Gaara, who was laughing so hard that he could barely talk.

Naruto yawned and stretched out his arms. "Yeah, he does look pretty hot," he said nonchalantly.

Sasuke and Gaara stopped laughing and stared at Naruto.

"OK," said Sasuke. "Um, I think it's time for bed."

"What? It's only like 1 o'clock!"

"Yeah, well, I still have an entire book to read before school starts. I need my rest."

"OK, ok," said Naruto as he walked towards the linen closet and grabbed two sleeping bags. "I call your bed though, Sasuke."

Gaara rolled his eyes. "It's Sasuke's bed, don't you think _he_ should sleep on it?"

"Nah, it's ok, he always gets my bed…somehow."

"Great!" said Naruto as he threw them each a sleeping bag, and then ran into Sasuke's room and started jumping on his bed. Gaara and Sasuke followed him into the room. "Pillow fight!" shouted the blond as he hit Gaara square in the face with a pillow shaped like a white and red lollypop.

"Oh, you are going _down, _Uzumaki!" laughed Gaara as he retaliated.

* * *

It didn't take long to wear out the blond, and soon he was asleep in Sasuke's bed. Gaara and Sasuke were lying next to each other on the floor in their sleeping bags. There was an awkward silence between them. 

After awhile, Sasuke couldn't stand it anymore. "I'm sorry…if I embarrassed you tonight," he said quietly as he stared at the ceiling. Gaara looked over at him.

"Don't worry about it. I was just glad to get out of there."

"Did you…not want to go to the party?"

"No, I did."

"Then why did you want to leave?"

"I dunno, I just couldn't really bring myself to have fun."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Is it because of…"

"Sort of. I guess, I dunno, I guess I just feel kind of guilty."

"Why?"

"Well, it's not like I _liked _my dad. But it still felt weird to be out having fun so soon. You know?"

"Yeah."

"_I'm _sorry for being such a spoil-sport."

"Haha, no it's ok. I had more fun once we left. Didn't you?"

Gaara chuckled. "Yeah, I did."

The two of them stopped talking after that.

"I don't know what I would do without you two," they both thought as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Yay! I updated. Amazing, isn't it? 

Um anyway, if you have any questions or anything, feel free to ask. I at least answered one of my own in this chapter, but you all are probably wondering why Gaara didn't like his dad and all that stuff.

You will know soon enough. Please R&R! The more reviews I get, the faster I update (maybe) But seriously, I would like some feedback, since AUs are so controversial.

But if you're all "I hate AUs!" then check out my other fic-in-progress, Never Really Home, which now has 11 chapters, and 4000+hits. Yay!

Look Forward to Chapter Five: Wow, Itachi is Damn Sexy


	5. Wow, Itachi is Damn Sexy

Before anything more is said on the subject of Gaara and his family, I am afraid another explanation is in order, and 'tis a long one, my friends.

* * *

You see, Gaara's mother died while giving birth to him. 

Gaara's father was obviously devastated, and often blamed the redhead for his wife's death. He even went so far as to mark Gaara with the Japanese symbol of love on his forehead to mock the lack of love that he had for his son.

Sometimes Gaara's father would beat him. Sometimes he would yell at Gaara until the little guy was in tears. Sometimes he would get violently drunk, and Gaara would lock himself in his room to block out the noise of vomiting.

Gaara's only escape, as well as the escape of his older brother and sister, came from the ocean. Their mother had been quite the local celebrity when it came to windsurfing, and had luckily passed on her athletic genes to all three of her children.

When Gaara was on a wave, he felt free for the first time. He was in control. He could go wherever he wanted to go and do whatever he wanted to do. It was paradise compared to home, where his father had driven the entire family into financial ruin from mass-consumption of anti-depressants, sleeping pills, and alcohol.

The torturing of Gaara continued for several years, until the summer before his junior year in high school, his father took too many sleeping pills and died.

Luckily for Gaara and his family, right after Temari graduated high school (the same year her father died), she opened up "Temari's Place," which sold surfboards, skateboards, and quite an impressive array of teen clothing and accessories. The store was quite popular, and the money made was enough to bring their family out of debt. They were even able to move to a quaint little apartment on the better side of town (in fact, right across the hall from Naruto and Iruka).

Even though for the first time, Gaara's life was coming together, he thought it was too good to be true, and was afraid to get happy, because he knew it wouldn't last forever…

* * *

Itachi was having a bad morning. He woke up on the couch around 6 o'clock because the sun was shining right in his eyes from the window. His back was sore from sleeping in such an awkward position. His eyes were very itchy and achy for some unknown reason, and when he went to rub them, he noticed that his nails were covered in layers and layers of purple marker and superglue. 

He also noticed that there were strangely painful red circles around his toes, and when he stood up, he stepped on an eye-lash curler.

Now, he was taking a very hot bath to try and get all the marker and glue off, and to relieve his muscles of their soreness.

"Where do I go from here, Tony?" he asked as he picked up a book from the bathroom floor and wiggled his toes in the bubbles.

_Sometimes, a loved one may lash out in anger towards you. The reasons vary, but are usually due to pent up emotions that they do not know how to express._

_The best way to break through these barriers is to buy them a present. This gives the opportunity to not only talk to them, but to discuss their feelings._

_

* * *

_"Wow, Itachi is damn sexy," said Temari to herself as she leaned over the counter of "Temari's Place." The tall brunette had just walked in the door, looking extremely hot in his baggy blue jeans that somehow accentuated his ass and his skin-tight black tee-shirt. She noted that he looked like he was wearing some sort of eyeliner, and…were those traces of purple nail polish? "Hey, whatever floats your boat," she muttered to herself as she smiled a little. "May I help you?" 

Itachi smiled in her direction and walked over…sexily…(haha)

"Hey, Temari," (his younger brother's best friend's sister, remember?) "Yeah, I'm just looking for something for Sasuke."

"Like what, a present?"

Itachi blushed a little. "Yeah, we haven't been getting along that great lately, and I wanna get him something that will, hopefully, break through the…icy glares?" The brunette raised an eyebrow as the younger blond doubled over in laughter.

"Where…do you…get this crap?" she gasped between giggles.

"Um…Tony Robbins?"

"Well, let me tell you, I've had a brother for a long time now. I know how they think," she said, pointing to her head and winking at Itachi, "And if you buy him a present, he'll probably just look at you weird and slowly back away."

"What?"

"Trust me, I know these things."

Itachi now had both eyebrows raised. He had never realized how completely clueless he really was. And here was Temari, the expert on little brothers. If he was ever going to get through to Sasuke, he was going to do it right. Besides, Temari was looking pretty hot in her short denim skirt, fishnet stockings, and white spaghetti-string top (the best thing about owning a store is regulating the dress code). "Hey, do you wanna grab a bite to eat tonight and, perhaps, enlighten me on how I should win back my brother?"

Temari (who had been laughing this entire time) stood up with a smirk. "Sure," she said and patted him on the head. "There is much for you to learn, young grasshopper."

Itachi let out a laugh and headed for the door, but then he stopped and turned back to the counter. "Maybe I'll buy him a necklace, you know, just 'cuz."

"Get out of here," she laughed, throwing a dust rag at him, "You don't want to scare him more than I'm sure he already is, living with you!"

"Why would he be scared? I'm perfectly normal…"he was cut off as he tried to head out of the door while looking at the blonde, but the door was really an evil wall in disguise (in his mind, at least). "Ow…"the brunette rubbed his head, "Oh, yeah, I'll pick you up at eight?"

"That's hot."

* * *

**hmmm...i think this might be a short chapter, but it is hard to say for sure...**

**anyway, i am hoping to actually get everyone in school soon, since you know, it's actually school. happening. now.if i get comments, more frequent updates are likely.**

**but yeah, i'm not a huge fan of this chapter (my friend keeps reminding me that temari and itachi have never actually _met_) so you kno, i'm not sure about the pairing yet, we'll see how it pans out.**

**so yeah, R&R and all that good stuff.**

**fun random fact: Temari's personality in this fic is remarkably similar to my own, in case any of you were wondering what i was like (i'm even incorporating my clothes) hehe.**

**oh, btw, i dunno what next chapter's title is yet...**


	6. Ketchup is Sticky

**I own nothing except my socks...

* * *

**

Itachi smiled at his reflection as he rubbed a small amount of gel onto his hair. Tonight was going to be fun. He hadn't been out in a long time, having been distracted by trying to win back his brother and studying up for his first real job.

And Temari seemed like a really nice person. He was sure that she would be able to help him with Sasuke. Plus, she was hot. Surprisingly, it had been a long time since Itachi had gotten any action. Too long, according to Sasuke. Usually, the only thing Sasuke ever spoke of to his brother was how he should just cut off his penis if he wasn't going to use it.

As he pulled on a pair of black slacks, he heard the front door slam. Buttoning them quickly, Itachi walked out of the bathroom and stopped short as he spotted a note on the kitchen counter.

_Going to sleep over Gaara's._

_-Sasuke_

Itachi crumpled up the note in his hand and threw it out before he glanced at the clock. "Better hurry," he whispered to himself. "Don't wanna be late for my date."

Pulling on a white t-shirt and a gray button up shirt over that, he grabbed the keys to his red Mercedes and headed over to Temari's (a.k.a. Gaara's) house, blasting "Dance Dance" all the way there.

* * *

As Itachi knocked on the door, he heard an excited squeal and a couple monotonous drones come from inside Temari's apartment. As the blonde opened the door, Itachi couldn't help but gape a little. She was wearing a suggestively tight, black leather skirt and red tee-shirt that clung to her curves. "Wow, Temari, you look great."

"Likewise," she chirped cheerfully as she gave him a wink. She smirked as three curious heads popped up beside her.

"Who's your hot date, Temari?" teased Naruto before letting out a hysterical laugh when he saw who it was.

"Honestly, are you so desperate that you are going to scam on my best friend's sister?" moaned Sasuke as he smacked his forehead. Gaara just glared at Itachi menacingly. "Better not hurt her," he hissed, "or I will castrate you with a spoon."

"I believe that you have to have a penis in order to be castrated," smiled Sasuke before turning to go back in the apartment. Naruto and Gaara followed.

"Haha," grinned Temari as she scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "We better get going before they come running at us with silverware."

"Yeah…" frowned Itachi a little before he put an arm over the blonde's shoulder and led her to his car. "So, where are we off to tonight?"

* * *

"I cant…believe…we're eating at Wendy's," laughed Itachi softly to himself as he took his first bite of hamburger. After arguing light-heartedly for about ten minutes on where to eat (Itachi preferred very expensive restaurants and Temari was more of a fast-food person) the blonde had smacked Itachi across the face and said that if she didn't get a good amount of cholesterol in her bloodstream, she wasn't going to be in the mood for sex. Itachi had been so shocked that he was actually going to get sex that he drove to Wendy's without another word.

It was there that he discovered she had been kidding, but had no choice but to order two number ones with extra ketchup and pickles with a side of fries and coke.

"So…I was thinking about the whole Sasuke thingy," said Temari as she stuffed a few fries into her mouth. "I think you should just kind of stop trying."

"Oh really," smiled Itachi as he took a sip of coke. "And why is that?"

"Well, I think that if he really needs you, he will come to you. He's a big kid now, he doesn't really need you for the little stuff anymore."

"I never thought about it that way before," mumbled Itachi as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. Temari kicked Itachi under the table.

"Stop being obnoxious, I am serious. It may surprise you, but Gaara still talks to me about things sometimes, and it is because I don't push him." Itachi nursed his bruised shin.

"You know, if this is going to be an abusive relationship, I think I might have to back out now…" He was interrupted by Temari giggling.

"Who said anything about a relationship? I am just out having a good time and giving advice to a friend." The blonde winked at him before shaking her soda a little and dumping it on his head.

"What the…" Itachi shouted in surprise and shivered as an ice cube found its way into his shirt.

"FOOD FIGHT!" screamed Temari as she threw the rest of her fries at a neighboring (and might I add, elderly) couple. Itachi laughed and threw his unfinished hamburger at a couple of teenage girls across the room.

* * *

Needless to say, Itachi and Temari were quickly escorted from the restaurant, amid cheers from the kids and shouts of anger from everyone else. Since they were both soaked in coke and ketchup (Itachi had a hamburger bun neatly placed on his head) they decided to walk around town a bit so as to not ruin Itachi's leather interior.

However, they found that store clerks weren't quick to welcome them into their tidy little boutiques, and had to settle for a nice little sit at the local park (which would be lacking of the annoying kids because it is like, dark).

"I'm still hungry," complained Temari as she giggled and put her head on Itachi's shoulder. The two were sitting on the only bench that they could find that wasn't speckled with pigeons' droppings.

"I think it is better that you have an empty stomach, it makes swinging much less nauseating."

"Wha…"Temari raised her head and looked questioningly into Itachi's eyes just before screaming as he quickly got up off the bench and lifted her into the air and put her over his shoulder. "Itachi? What the fuck are you doing?" she squealed. Itachi smacked her butt before setting her down gently on one of the swings.

"I told you, swinging," he laughed before giving her a soft push. Temari hung onto the sides of the swing and laughed as Itachi pushed her a little harder. She got higher and higher before Itachi stopped pushing the seat and she slowly came to a stop in front of him.

The two looked into each other's eyes.

There was silence that neither of them wanted to break. They couldn't breath from all of the magic in the air. Finally, Temari needed air, so she said, "You have ketchup on her nose," before she tilted her head back and licked it off.

Itachi leaned down and kissed her softly. "Want me to take you home?" he whispered as they pulled apart.

"Only if you come with me." She giggled as she realized how stupid that sentence was, but Itachi knew what she meant. Lifting her up above the swing, he carried her bridal-style all the way back to his car.

* * *

Itachi and Temari where planted in front of her apartment. His arms were wrapped around her tightly, and she was nibbling on her ear. They had been in this stance for at least half an hour.

"Temari…"Itachi moaned softly, "maybe you should go inside, my feet are starting to hurt.

"Only if you come with me," she whispered seductively into his ear as she used a free hand to unlock the door. Playfully, she grabbed his hand and pulled her inside. The lights were off, and there were no signs of Gaara, Sasuke, or Naruto anywhere, but Temari and Itachi were too preoccupied to really care where they were. The blonde pulled Itachi into her bedroom, and shoved him against the door to close it.

Itachi assumed that he had more ketchup on his face, because Temari wouldn't stop licking it. He gently cupped her face in his big hands and grabbed her lips with his own. Their tongues intertwined, they both moaned a little, and Itachi grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head.

"Interesting," commented a voice from right next to them. "Not the approach I would have taken, however…"

Startled, Itachi and Temari stopped suddenly and looked over. To their dismay, Gaara, Sasuke, and Naruto were all standing their, observing them make out. Gaara wasshaping a make-believe moustache.

"Gaara…" sputtered Temari in disbelief. "Why…how…what are you doing?"

"Simple critiquing you two," he said nonchalantly.

"Get out of here, you weirdos!" she yelled and opened the door. But none of them exited.

"I'm still curious as to how you are going to fuck without a penis," said Sasuke as he patted his brother's shoulder. Itachi ran over to Temari's bed and grabbed the biggest pillow.

"Enough, you three. We've got things to do, and you guys are not coming along for the ride."

"Ride…now _that's_ an interesting word," said Naruto in a surprisingly serious tone.

"Move!" barked Itachi, giving each of them a good whack in the head with the pillow.

"Fine…fine!" laughed Sasuke as he ran out of the bedroom. "But if you guys wake us up with your sick little 'noises', we will have no choice but to kill you."

The three of them left the room, and Itachi and Temari could hear them laughing all the way down the hall.

"Now," smiled Temari as she pulled Itachi over to the bed and pushed him down roughly, "Where were we?"

* * *

**Haha, it had been so long, I almost forgot how to submit chapters. I know that I ignored this story for like...three months? I have no excuses, feel free to stone me senseless...**

**Anywho, I think I got my muse back, so hopefully I will be writing again soon enough...**

**R&R and tell me what you think of this generously long chapter...**


	7. Cyber Support

I own nothing! (who is who?)

**unouluvpinky** - sakura

**numberoneuchiha** - sasuke

**ilinerboy** - gaara

**foxyroxy** - naruto

**eyebrowsaresexy** - lee

**inosr4ever** - ino

**imnohyuuga** - hinata

**fishnetizgod **- temari

**puppetluva **- kankuro

**chocfullonuts** - itachi

**iheartdoritos** - chouji

* * *

You have just entered room "crapschoolstartstomorrow."

**unouluvpinky:** hey all, i just figured you might need some support since school starts tomorrow.

**numberoneuchiha:** sakura, i have no time to talk, i have like an entire book to read!

**ilinerboy:** which book?

**numberoneuchiha:** um…(_checks cover)_ "sons and lovers"

**foxyroxy:** sounds romantic

**numberoneuchiha:** yea, sure, in any case i have to go, but i'll tune in to see if you guys touch upon anything interesting…

**eyebrowsaresexy:** good luck, my friend (_gives thumbs up)_

**foxyroxy:** haha, you said 'touch'

**inosr4ever:** speaking of 'touch' would you two like to go to a different chatroom to be alone?

**eyebrowsaresexy:** …

**unouluvpinky:** god, ino, just drop it

**unouluvpinky:** why does everyone in here have to be so immature?

**foxyroxy:** …what are you guys talking about?

**imnohyuuga:** o yea, you missed all the fun, naruto! seems like sakura and lee did a little sumptin' sumptin' after you three left the party.

**foxyroxy:** hinata, have you been drinking again?

**imnohyuuga:** …no…

**foxyroxy:** you had to think about it, didn't you?

**unouluvpinky:** ANYWAY

**ilinerboy:** (_sakura inconspicuously changes the topic)_

**unouluvpinky:** no one said you were narrator, gaara!

**ilinerboy:** (_sticks tongue out)_

**fishnetizgod:** gaara, that was rude, i may have to give you a spanking…

**ilinerboy:** temari, get a life

**fishnetizgod:** ouch

**ilinerboy:** btw, how are you even online?

**fishnetizgod:** laptop

**unouluvpinky:** this is so boring…what does everyone's schedule look like?

**ilinerboy:** no one cares! y am i even in here?

**puppetluva:** because you love us?

**unouluvpinky:** who is that?

**puppetluva:** kankuro

**foxyroxy:** let me ask you something gaara…is your brother really attracted to puppets?

**ilinerboy:** yea, it get's kinda creepy sometimes with all the strange noises that come out of his room late at nite…

**puppetluva:** you're just jealous!

**ilinerboy:** are you insinuating that I am incestuous?

**puppetluva:** …yes

**fishnetizgod:** that was uncalled for! go to your room!

**puppetluva:** never! my love will triumph over all else!

**ilinerboy:** temari…he just came running into my room with a dildo…

**fishnetizgod:** brb, you guys…duty calls…

**unouluvpinky:** um, your family scares me…

**ilinerboy:** (_sigh)_ me too…

**foxyroxy:** yeah, moving on…

**foxyroxy:** team seven should coordinate outfits tomorrow!

**ilinerboy:** …

**unouluvpinky:** …

**foxyroxy:** no seriously! then people will think we are cool!

**unouluvpinky:** naruto, you will never be cool, get over it

**numberoneuchiha:** your penis isn't cool!

**foxyroxy:** sasuke, why are you so obsessed with penises lately?

**numberoneuchiha:** …

**ilinerboy:** seriously sasuke, you have to stop drinking and IMing… it isn't safe

**numberoneuchiha:** you guys are so mean,i just needed a couple shots to help me understand this book

**inosr4ever:** it's okay, sasuke,i support your obsession with penises

**numberoneuchiha:** who are you, man? who. are. you.

**inosr4ever:** wow, you must be really wasted

**numberoneuchiha:** nuh-uh! (_hiccups)_

**numberoneuchiha:** (_sets book on fire)_

**foxyroxy:** itachi, you had better go make sure he doesn't hurt himself…

**fishnetizgod:** itachi is here?

**chocfullonuts:** right o', chaps, wish me luck (_grabs fire extinguisher)_

**unouluvpinky:** wow, if this is how people are reacting to junior year, maybei should just stay back

**inosr4ever:** yeah, and then maybe the rest of your body will catch up with your forehead!

**fishnetizgod:** oh, snap!

**unouluvpinky:** that didn't even make sense…

**unouluvpinky:** but seriously…sasuke and hinata have turned into alcoholics and gaara's family has gone nuts!

**ilinerboy:** i'm the only junior in my family…

**unouluvpinky:** still…

**inosr4ever:** and some of them are reacting to the pressure in more pleasurable ways

**unouluvpinky:** …

**eyebrowsaresexy:** please stop speaking of such things._ (blushes)_ besides…i am a senior.

**unouluvpinky:** _(slaps forehead) _tomorrow…is going to be a nightmare…

**inosr4ever:** senior year is tough too

**fishnetizgod:** yea, have you started filling out all that college crap?i remember all my friends freakin' over it…

**eyebrowsaresexy:** fuck…

**unouluvpinky:** wow, lee,i had no idea you were capable of cursing!

**eyebrowsaresexy:**i am sorry ifi have insulted you, my love.

**unouluvpinky:** haha (_blushes)_ nah, it's kinda sexy…

**inosr4ever:** get a room!

**iheartdoritos:** sorry,i was getting snacks, didi miss anything?

**foxyroxy:** only two alcoholics, a fire, incest, and nasty lovey dovey stuff…

**iheartdoritos:** (_skims over convo)_ sakura, since Konoha High is a small private school, we should mostly all have the same classes…'cept you, lee

**unouluvpinky:** oh, right…i forgot

**inosr4ever:** you would think that there was a brain behind that forehead…

**unouluvpinky:** gimme a break, ino, i'm sure we've all forgotten what school is like…

**ilinerboy:**i rememberi would get less sleep than usual…

**foxyroxy:** thank god you said that!i wouldn't have set my alarm clock!

**numberoneuchiha:** likewise…

**fishnetizgod:** so your back? did your sexy bro have to bail you outta jail?

**chocfullonuts:** no, but he will be needing a new copy of his book…

**unouluvpinky:** well…i'm gonna go to bed, andi thinki still have some history to do...

**foxyroxy:** we had history homework?

_unouluvpinky has left the room._

**foxyroxy:** but…it's summer

**chocfullonuts:** we'd better sign off, too, we have a long day ahead of us…

**numberoneuchiha:** stfu

**inosr4ever:** oh yea,i forget you are teaching our science class this year, good luck!

_inosr4ever has left the room._

**chocfullonuts:** thanks…

_chocfullonuts has left the room._

_numberoneuchiha has left the room._

**foxyroxy:** gaara, meet me at my locker tomorrow before school

**ilinerboy:** doi have to?

**foxyroxy:** yes

_Ilinerboy has left the room._

_foxyroxy has left the room._

**puppetluva:** who is left?i thought we were going to have some cyber fun…

_chocfullonuts has left the room._

_fishnetizgod has left the room._

**eyebrowsaresexy:** good luck, hinata, chouji! (_gives thumbs up)_

_eyebrowsaresexy has left the room._

_iheartdoritos has left the room._

_imnohyuuga has left the room._

**puppetluva:** you guys are no fun…

_puppetluva has left the room._

* * *

**Pointless fluff before the story actually gets started...**

**Don't worry, I am on a role, the next chapter will be up by tomorrow...**

**Funny how it took me seven chapters to get to the beginning, I promise there will be plenty of plot and angst and yaoi and lemon and lime and watermelon...**

**Yeah...R&R this fluffy stuff...I have never done a chatroom chapter before, and am curious as to how it went...**


	8. A Good Husband

_**Isht kicked out of apartment because she owns nothing...**

* * *

_

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Fuck…"mumbled Sasuke into his pillow.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

The young Uchiha wiped the drool clumsily from his chin and rubbed his eyes gingerly.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Shut the fuck UP, already, you FUCKING bird!" screamed Sasuke to his alarm clock as he swiped his arm quickly over his nightstand. This was an effective method to get the "bird" to stop beeping. However, he also managed to break his lamp and spill a bottle of open Gatorade all over his floor.

"A wonderful start to your first day of school," chuckled Itachi, who had brought his younger brother a piece of toast and some coffee. "Wake up, sleepyhead."

Sasuke cursed again before turning his back to his brother.

"Come on, rise and shine! Aren't you excited to learn?" chirped the older Uchiha, jumping up and down in mock-cheerleader form.

"Fuck off," said Sasuke nearly inaudibly as he slowly brought himself up into a sitting position.

"Good boy," Itachi patted Sasuke's head and handed him the cup of coffee and toast. "Come on, eat up, you only have a half hour until school starts." Sasuke glared at his older brother, which wiped the smile off of Itachi's face.

"Yeah, yeah. What, are you going to watch me shower or something? Go away!" Sasuke urged sleepily as he nudged Itachi's leg, spilling some coffee onto his hand. "Ow!" Itachi smirked at Sasuke before turning to leave the room.

"I have to go in early," he said as he walked out the door. "It is a shame that we couldn't go to school in one car and save the environment one gas-tank at a time." This last sentence had to be shouted down the hall, and he wouldn't have thought Sasuke had heard him, but an unmistakable "Fuck the environment!" was bellowed from the now closed doorway of the younger Uchiha's room.

* * *

"Naruto…"said a voice dreamily into the blond's ear. "Nar…uto…time to wake up…you're going to be late…"

"Huh?" Naruto snored in his sleep.

"Naruto!" The blond woke up suddenly when Iruka violently shook the boy's shoulder. "It's quarter 'til eight!"

"WHAT?" screeched Naruto, sitting up in his desk. There was a piece of paper stuck to his face from sleep, undoubtedly some of that unfinished history homework Sakura had mentioned the night before.

"Don't make me late again, Naruto! You know how Tsunade is with tardiness!" The blond quirked an eyebrow at his guardian.

"She…doesn't really care," he stuttered, still quite exhausted from the lack of sleep. Iruka turned a little pink.

"Well…maybe she will this year!" he sputtered, embarrassed for some reason that Naruto did not know. "Besides, I am a teacher, I have to set a good example!"

"You teach gym, it isn't like a real class or anything." Iruka smacked Naruto on the back of his head.

"Will you just get ready so we can leave?" scolded the brunet before stomping out of the room. Naruto glanced down at the bright orange tee-shirt he was wearing and gave it a quick sniff. He did the same thing to the black jeans he was wearing. The blond stood up quickly and slid on his Vans (skillfully with no hands) while he shook his untamed mane of golden locks.

"Ready, Iruka!" he screamed, grabbing his backpack and running out of his bedroom door.

* * *

"Hey Gaara!" yelled Naruto enthusiastically down the hall as he spotted the redhead resting his forehead against the blond's locker.

"Mmhmph," mumbled Gaara, not looking up. "Weren't you wearing that yesterday morning when you left my house?"

Naruto smirked and looked down at his attire. "No," he shook his head innocently, as he leaned against the locker next to his own.

"'lo," sighed Sasuke as he walked up to Gaara and Naruto, only to slide down onto the floor.

"Not a morning person, are we, pookie-kins?" Naruto bent down to pinch Sasuke's cheek, unperturbed by the death glare he received. Neither of them noticed, but Gaara turned a slight shade of pink.

"Uh…"he stammered, "I…I gotta go, I am taking…an early chemistry class." Before anyone could say anything else, he quickly strode away into a distance that both Naruto and Sasuke noticed was not towards the science wing. They both stared at each other.

"I think…"said Naruto, carefully, "Gaara is drunk."

"Yeah, that must be it…" said Sasuke, standing up. Naruto noticed that he looked a little flushed. Naruto lost his playful face and became serious.

"Dost you have a fever, young maiden?" he asked, putting a hand on Sasuke's forehead.

"Nuh…no," gulped Sasuke, reddening a little more. "I'm just tired is all," he said, looking off into the direction that Gaara had practically run off to. "I'll be fine…"

"SASUKE! NARUTO! HIDE ME!" The two nearly jumped out of their skins as Sakura came running down the hall, only to squeeze herself in between the two, trying to conceal her body.

"Um…Sakura?" Naruto questioned, looking down at his pink-haired friend and then up at Sasuke.

"Sakura, I'm sure that whoever you are running from is going to find you there…"Sasuke said, hardly able to keep from chuckling.

"It's Lee! I was walking in from the parking lot, and he spotted me and started spouting his undying love for me right in front of everyone. It was so embarrassing!" The poor girl was practically in tears. "Please save me, think of all the things I've done for you two!" Sakura looked up at Naruto and Sasuke desperately, but groaned to herself in frustration as she noticed that they were both doubled over in laughter.

"Wow, you sleep with a guy and he suddenly gets the impression you're a couple," gasped Naruto, tears streaming down his face from laughing so hard.

"Yeah, maybe you should try it some time, idiot!" snickered Sasuke, wrapping a brotherly arm around the pink-haired girl. Naruto followed his lead. They began walking down the hall towards the direction that Sakura had come running from, easily fighting the girl's struggles to get away from them. "I'm sorry Sakura, nothing you've done for us can really make up for what we are about to do to you," he giggled as he heard the unmistakable cry of love coming from around the corner.

"Now remember, Sakura," Naruto said fatherly between chortles, "You've given yourself to him, and now…" All three of them looked up as a certain green-spandex-clad lad came walking briskly towards them. "You have to marry him!" He smiled brightly towards Lee and wrapped his other arm around the stricken lover of Sakura.

Sakura rolled her eyes and held her head in her hands. Lee untangled himself and Sakura from the blond's arms and pulled Sakura close in a loving embrace. "Don't worry, my lovely blossom, I will be a good husband," he said softly, ignoring the bellowing laughter coming from Sasuke and Naruto as they walked to their first period class: CPR. With Hatake Kakashi.

* * *

**Yeah, it'll be a couple days until another update what with the holidays and movies and things that I must do. Yes, I do have a life! (just not recently!)**

**Please R&R because I have been a good little girl and updated.**

**Thanks loves! Peace out!**


	9. Necrophilia

**I own nothing!**

* * *

"Not much is known about Hatake Kakashi. All we know for sure is that he is supposedly a genius. Some say that he was a doctor of mathematics by the time he was eleven. He has allegedly been romantically connected to our very own gym teacher, Umino Iruka. In fact, I heard that they went on a hiking trip/date when they were younger, and there was a rockslide that killed their tour guide. Both of their faces got messed up (Iruka was lucky to walk away with a scratch on his nose) but a good part of Kakashi's face got messed up, so he wears a mask. Lee even said that he had to get his eye removed, and now he has a creepy glass one that gives him psychic powers."

Naruto turned the flashlight off and pocketed it. Then, he hopped off the desk and turned on the lights. The blond turned around and smirked. He had had the whole class captivated with the story of their very late health teacher.

"Naruto, you…are retarded," sighed Sasuke, who had his head in his hands.

"Hey, it killed time," laughed Naruto, sitting down in the desk next to his raven-haired friend.

"You mean, that was all a lie?" cried Sakura, who had actually been feeling sorry for Kakashi.

"No, that is the compiled story that Lee and Iruka told me. The rest," he said, winking at her and tilting his chair back onto two legs, "is up for you to decide." A loud clapping noise from outside the classroom door startled him, and he feel backwards, sending his feet flying in the air and making the entire class laugh. But everyone got very quiet as a tall, silver-haired man wearing a mask that covered everything except for his right eye walked into the room. He was casually dressed, wearing worn-out blue jeans and a green turtleneck.

"Wonderful rendition of my life, Mr…"

"Uzumaki, sir," gulped Naruto, looking up as Kakashi stopped right in front of his body (which was on the floor).

"Well, Mr. Uzumaki, let me tell you something," he growled, leaning forward with his arms folded. "If you even think about calling me 'sir' again, I will kill you. That goes for 'Mr. Hatake' as well. If any of you," he said, standing back up at his full height and staring around at the class, "calls me anything that might be related to me being a teacher, not even the crows will be able to find your remains."

The whole class stared at him, mouths gaping a little at their new and very ornery health teacher. "Let me tell you something, the only reason I am a teacher is because it is an easy way to make money, and the only reason I am teaching health is because the rent on my apartment went up this summer and I have to teach an extra class to make the payment." He turned on his heal and walked over to his desk, picked up a CPR book, and started flipping through it. "Now, you're juniors, so you're supposed to learn CPR this year, am I right?" No one ventured to answer. "Okay then, well I think you all know what CPR involves. Pretty much, all you have to do is make out with dead people." You could have heard a pin drop in the room. "That is right, necrophilia."

"Um…Mr…uh…Kakashi," stuttered Naruto, raising his hand, but the blond was quickly interrupted.

"Uzumaki, go to the principal's office," said Kakashi, pointing to the door.

"Why?"

"Because I hate you."

Without another word, Naruto stood up off the floor and walked out of the door.

"That's not fair!" shouted Sasuke and Sakura at the same time.

"Stop talking! Both of you! Or you will receive the same punishment!" hissed Kakashi. Sasuke didn't say another word, but he was so pissed off that he picked up his backpack, swung it over his shoulder, and walked out the door, giving one last death-glare to his silver-haired teacher. "Now," said Kakashi, unperturbed as he sat down at his desk and pulled what looked like a romance novel out of his drawer, "Everyone has to write a three-page paper on necrophilia and its many uses while I do some…studying…up on the class."

None of the students were brave even to stand up to him. All they could do was moan in unison and pull out some paper and a pen.

* * *

"Naruto, wait up!" shouted Sasuke as he ran down the hall after his blond-haired friend. Naruto turned around in surprise as Sasuke caught up to him and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Man, that Kakashi guy is a real jerk, huh?" he said, slightly out of breath from running.

"Eh…I suppose," sighed Naruto, rolling his eyes a bit and putting his hands in his pockets. "But hanging out with Tsunade beats class."

"You mean, annoying Tsunade, right?" smirked the young Uchiha.

"Exactly," he chuckled as he turned into the principal's office, "See you later, Sasuke!" He waved good-bye and disappeared from Sasuke's sight. The raven-haired boy kept walking, not exactly sure where to go now that he had twenty minutes before his next class. He found himself in front of the boys' bathroom, and decided to hang out there to hide from the hall-monitors.

But he found himself smack-dab right in front of Gaara's face.

"Gaara? What are you doing in here? I didn't even realize that you weren't in class," said Sasuke, dropping his backpack onto the white-tiled floor.

"Oh…uh…" stammered Gaara, his face turning red.

"And what was with you this morning, didn't you know that there are no early classes on the first day of school?"

"Nuh…no, I forgot," sighed the redhead, relief washing over his face as he realized he didn't have to make up another excuse. Sasuke leaned his back up against the wall and looked at Gaara curiously.

"So, what are you doing in here?"

"Oh, well, I heard that Kakashi is a real prick, so I decided to skip." He leaned next to Sasuke and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, he already sent Naruto to Tsunade," laughed Sasuke.

"Wow, that is almost a record for Naruto," said Gaara, smiling. "What are you doing in here?" Sasuke stopped laughing and looked down at his feet.

"I…uh, kinda got mad with Kakashi, so I figured rather than freaking out, I should just leave." Gaara opened his eyes and looked over at Sasuke in surprise.

"Oh."

"Hey, are you okay? It isn't like you to skip class," said Sasuke, concerned, without looking up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, I guess." Sasuke nodded in agreement before leaning his head on Gaara's shoulder and closing his eyes.

"Aren't we all." Gaara turned a little red, but thankfully, Sasuke couldn't see as he pretended to doze on his friend's shoulder.

* * *

"So, Naruto, what is the problem, it is a little early for you to be in my office…"said Tsunade, not even looking up from her work as she heard Naruto come into the room.

"Haha, well, are you aware that…Kakashi…is a friggin' asshole?" said Naruto, smiling innocently at his blonde principal.

Tsunade nodded, still working on filling something out. "Yes, I have heard that complaint before. But I am afraid that my hands are tied. His family donated several million dollars to this school a few years back, so as long as he wants to work here, I have to let him stay." Naruto sat down in the chair facing her desk and put his feet up onto it.

"I'm sorry, old lady, that just isn't going to cut it for me," he said business-like, resting his hands behind his head and his legs on her desk, and leaned back. Tsunade looked up and brushed a strand of long, blonde hair away from her face.

"Naruto, do me a favor and show some respect," she said, pushing his feet off of her pile of papers.

"Listen, grandma," he said, standing up suddenly and leaning forward on her desk, "I know about your boob job!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger. "I know about all of the plastic surgery! And…"he whispered huskily, "I know about that stash of sake hidden in your left bottom drawer."

A vein in Tsunade's forehead began to throb and she squinted her eyes in annoyance. "And what do you plan on doing with all of this knowledge?" she hissed dangerously.

"If you don't transfer me and my friends out of that asshole's class, I am going to tell the public!" he yelled, punching a triumphant fist in the air just as the end-of-class bell rang.

"Naruto, if you don't leave my office right this instant, I am going to hit you so hard you go back to middle school and I won't have to deal with you!" shouted Tsunade. Thankfully (for both of them) Naruto decided he had annoyed the old lady enough, and ran out the door into the crowded hallway.

* * *

**See, I did update! You didn't believe me, did you? Anyway, that little reference to the crows that Kakashi said was from Roald Dahl's (sp?)_Matilda_, it isn't my own!**

**Um, yeah, I hope that you all found this a little entertaining. It might amuse you to know that although Kakashi is my favorite character, I am basing him off of my two least favorite teachers of all time. And they both act exactly like him.**

**Pity me and R&R.**


	10. This Totally Looks Like A Penis

**owns nothing Enjoy!**

* * *

"You have got to be fucking me!" screamed Naruto as he looked down at his schedule to make sure there wasn't some kind of mistake. Nope, sorry Naruto. It said it right there in bold. "Second period. Math Analysis. Hatake Kakashi," the blond whispered, as if to confirm the horror that was becoming a reality.

"Fuck you! Whoever you are!" he shouted to the ceiling, foolishly under the impression that the author of his life could hear him. Sasuke and Gaara hid their faces in their hands as the entire class grew quiet and stared at the now standing Uzumaki.

"Do you have to be a retard all the time, Naruto?" hissed Gaara under his breath as their classmates continued to look on.

"Someone up there is fucking with my life! He's got to be!" said the blond passionately as he punched the air a few times in anger.

"Who said I was a guy?" I said just so Naruto could hear me. "Now, shut up and sit down, Kakashi is about to make his entrance." The blond stuttered to himself as the infamous gray-haired teacher walked into the room with his hands casually placed inside his pockets.

Not even looking at his class, Kakashi turned to the chalkboard and wrote "Math Analysis." His back still turned to the class, he began his lesson. "Does anyone know what this class is going to involve?" No one answered. Apparently, Kakashi's bad-tempered rep had already spread to the rest of the grade. "Let me tell you something," he whispered as he turned on his heel to face the class. "This class is a joke." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his teacher. "It is pretty much a repeat of middle school math, but you learn ridiculously hard ways to do things."

"You will never use any of this in life." Kakashi's swept an unreadable gaze over his students. "But I am still going to teach it to you. If you don't know what you are doing, I will humiliate you in front of the class. So try and not be useless," he ended his speech sharply.

"Now, take out your books and turn to page twenty-seven…"

* * *

"Jesus, what does that guy have up his ass?" complained Naruto as he rushed out of the room at the bell, followed closely by Sasuke and Gaara. The blond was very upset that he was going to have to face Kakashi for two periods in a row. He was also quite drained at the mere thought of the lessons his teacher had warned them about. 

"Let me give you a hint," said Sasuke with a chuckle, "He is living with you." Gaara and Sasuke burst out laughing as Naruto scowled at the joke.

"Give me a break, if they really are going together, you think Iruka would be on top?" said Naruto, annoyed. Gaara rolled his eyes at his friend's bluntness. "Iruka has no balls, he would totally be dominated by Kakashi." Neither of his friends said anything as the three of them turned into CAD with Yakushi Kabuto.

* * *

"This totally looks like a penis," said Gaara nonchalantly as he turned their first assignment sideways. Sasuke looked over his friend's shoulder as he helped Kabuto pass out the piece of paper (the first drawing they were supposed to copy onto the computer) to the rest of the class. 

"Yeah, if that's what you have on your mind," laughed Sasuke as he finished handing out the assignment and sat next to Gaara. Both of them blushed a little. Naruto sat on the redhead's other side. He was resting his forehead on the computer desk. "Hopefully, math analysis will wear out Naruto enough so he is like this for the rest of the day," thought Sasuke out loud as he turned on the monitor.

"Maybe it will be like this all year…" fantasized Gaara. He looked dreamily up at the ceiling.

"You guys…are mean," moaned Naruto, unmoving. From the other side of the room, Kabuto noticed that Gaara and Naruto weren't working, and he marched over with a false-air of superiority.

"Come on you two, this may be an elective, but that doesn't mean it is naptime," he said hurriedly as he reached over their shoulders and turned on their monitors. "Get to work." The blond moaned a little louder.

* * *

"WELCOME TO THE CLASSROOM OF YOUTH!" As Naruto and Sasuke approached their physics classroom, they could hear Gai's enthusiastic bellows coming from inside. They were already well-prepared for their next teacher. He had quite a reputation for being loud and emotional around the building, and it was near impossible that they hadn't noticed him after two years of enrollment. 

The two had left Gaara at his English classroom (academic British literature with Yuuhi Kurenai) and practically had to run all the way to make it to physics on time.

"HURRY UP, YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO MISS THE FOUNTAIN OF KNOWLEDGE!" greeted Gai with a smile as they skidded into the classroom just as the bell rang.

"Right…" was all Sasuke managed as he sat down, breathing heavily from their sprint. Naruto took a seat next to him in the front row.

"Now that everyone is here," Gai took a moment to flash a smile at Naruto and Sasuke and give them a wink, "I can explain what this year is going to be like. To sum it up in one word…" Gai turned around and wrote "H-E-L-L" on the chalkboard.

"I'm not going to lie to you," he continued in a serious voice, "Physics is a tough class. If you understand it, you will get an A. But if you don't…" he paused for dramatic effect, "You will die."

* * *

"Is it just me, or does it seem like the teachers this year are out to get us?" said an exasperated Naruto as they met up with Gaara in the boys locker room and began to change into their gym clothes. Sasuke mumbled an agreement. 

"Kurenai isn't so bad," argued Gaara lightly as he pulled a black tee-shirt over his pale skin.

"Yeah, but she is academic English. It is an easy A," said Naruto, pulling on some blue sweat pants. "I'm worried about us, Sasuke," he commented as they walked out into the gym. "I heard Jiraiya is a real weirdo."

"At least we have Iruka as a breather between Physics and English," said Sasuke monotonously as he sat down on the bleachers.

"Yeah, speaking of easy As…" chuckled Naruto to himself as he joined his raven-haired friend. Gaara remained standing with his arms folded. "Where is that homo, anyways? I need to get my blood flowing…" the blond was cut off by an unmistakable orgasm that came from their teacher's office.

"Oh my god," muttered Sasuke as a tomato red Iruka stumbled from his office and started walking briskly towards his gym class.

"Having a little warm-up, eh Iruka?" teased Naruto. Iruka gave him a glare that shut him up immediately.

"Welcome to Gym III. Boot camp. You can call me 'Iruka' or 'God'. Now, do fifty laps around the school. And don't think about slacking off, I'll be watching you…" With a loud groan, the juniors stood up in unison and headed for the outside door.

"So much for an easy A," laughed Gaara as he broke into a jog.

* * *

**Yeah, I know it has been like...almost two months since I updated, but I was kind busy getting a D+ in physics, so sorry.**

**If anyone was wondering, I am in fact a junior, andthis fic (at least the school part) is loosely based on my own life. So I repeat, pity me.**

**Now, I am not saying that reviewing pushes me to update sooner, but I was rejuvenated when I heard from inuyashapup today...hint hint**

**XD R&R**


	11. Prince Itachi Fan Club

**Oh no! The ruler line isn't working! Oh well, explanation at end of chapter, don't own anything, enjoy!**

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"Can you believe Iruka was having sex before class?" said a tired and very sweaty Sasuke as he pulled his shirt off in the locker room. "Who was it with anyway?"

"You have to ask?" chuckled Naruto. "It was obviously Kakashi." Gaara looked at him, surprised as he leaned against the locker, watching Sasuke change.

"How do you know?" asked the redhead.

"Because whoever it was didn't leave. Only that bastard is cocky enough to wait for seconds." Naruto pulled up his baggy black jeans and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Gaara, what are you staring at?" questioned the blond, a little amused. Gaara blushed and stopped looking at Sasuke. He got changed so quickly the he was practically a blur and finished before Sasuke had time to look up.

"N-nothing," Gaara said, tying his shoes with what seemed the utmost care. Standing up, it was obvious that he wanted to change the subject. "Hey, since it is a half-day, you guys wanna come over to the shop and maybe snag something to eat?" Naruto looked at him, bewildered.

"Today…is a half day!"

"Didn't you know, idiot?" laughed Sasuke. "Why else would the periods be so short?" The blond hit his head against the locker, and the noise echoed through the now empty locker room.

"Um, I'll take that as a 'yes', then," laughed Gaara as he shouldered his bag. A bell rang in the distance. "I gotta go, you guys. I have Latin with…" he looked down at his schedule, "Hyuuga Hiashi."

"Isn't that Hinata's dad?" asked Naruto.

"Well, they have the same name," said Sasuke, heading for the door. "See you in history, Gaara." Waving behind him, Sasuke grabbed the blond's arm and dragged him out the door.

"Hey, why don't you guys have a language?" shouted Gaara after them. Sasuke and Naruto popped their heads over the side.

"We dropped it," they said in unison. The redhead could hear their feet pitter-pattering across the tiled floor in the direction of the English section of their school. Gaara turned to go out the other door, a little crestfallen. He wasn't sure he would know anyone in Latin. As he walked into the room and pretend to listen to Hiashi's scolding for being late, he looked out at the sea of unfamiliar senior faces and realized that he was right.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Itachi let out a sigh and put his head down on his desk. This day was going ever so slowly. Since there was no AP Chemistry today, he was having to endure a bunch of idiot sophomores that didn't know the first think about science. As he heard his next period bustling into the room and whispering about him, the Uchiha recalled how last period had gone.

"Okay," he said, pointing to an enlarged table of the elements. "The noble gases are…" one of the kids interrupted him.

"What makes them so noble?" said the kid with a smirk. Obviously, he was one of the class-clowns. Itachi looked at him, bewildered. What kind of a question was that?

"Well, the noble gases don't need anymore electrons to remain balanced."

"What is an electron?"

Itachi had a feeling that the rest of the year was going to be this way. At least there was tomorrow. He could look forward to a room full of not-so-air headed juniors and seniors. Besides, after school, Temari had invited him to have lunch with her at her shop. That would probably be fun.

Since this class was unavoidable, he slowly stood up and stretched his arms. A couple of giggles came from a corner of the room. Looking over, he gave out a little gasp of annoyance at a whole circle of hormone-filled girls, winking at him and batting their eyes.

"Just great," he muttered to himself. "Okay class, settle down. I am Uchiha Itachi, and I teach academic and AP chemistry."

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From the start, Naruto and Sasuke knew they were doomed. As they walked into English, instead of being yelled at for being late, Jiraiya had given them a way too friendly pat on the behind and scooted them to the front of the class so he could "keep and eye on them." He looked to be a man of about fifty with a ridiculous white wig and an obnoxious olive-green jumpsuit with sandals.

"Can someone say 'child molester'?" said Naruto to Sasuke out from the corner of his mouth. Before Sasuke had time to respond, their English teacher had knelt down so he was eye-level with Naruto. His face was dangerously close the blond's.

"You're not going to make trouble in my class, are you?" he said in a friendly voice with a little pat on Naruto's head. The blond examined Jiraiya's face.

"Hey, aren't you that guy who writes all those smutty romance novels that they sell at Spencers?" With this, the white haired English teacher stood up, flustered. His face turned red and he returned to his desk.

"I don't know what you are talking about," he said, exasperated. Grabbing a box full of books, he shoved them at Naruto and muttered something about passing them out to the class. "This week, we will be reading 'Equus', a play about beastiality. And no, Mr. Uzumaki, I did not write it," he said in an annoyed voice as Naruto went to open his mouth.

---------------------------------------------------------------

"So, I'm guessing Latin didn't go very well?" sighed Sasuke as he sat down next to Gaara, who looked like he had been flung onto his chair by a strong wind. Naruto sat on the redhead's other side and gave him a look that clearly said, "You should have dropped it like we did."

Gaara stared at the ceiling longingly. "I don't know anyone in there. They are all a bunch of seniors. And the teacher is really strict."

"Maybe Lee can introduce you to some people," said Naruto, trying to encourage his friend. "He knows everyone in school." The redhead didn't seem uplifted by this, but still looked forward as their teacher, a man with a wild, brown beard who smelled of smoke entered the room.

"Hello, my name is Sarutobi Asuma, and I will be attempting to teach you American History this year."

Asuma continued to explain the course proficiencies and various exorcises the class would be doing throughout the year as the students zoned out, gazing hopefully at the open window which was allowing a refreshing breeze to flutter into the otherwise stifling room.

As the bell rang, a loud cheer was heard throughout the school as most of the students and teachers alike rushed for the freedom of the outside world, away from the seclusion of Konoha High.

Sasuke, Gaara and Naruto ran to the Uchiha's car and jumped in as quickly as they could to beat the crowd over to the beach, followed closely by Itachi, who could not have been more eager to escape what was (unfortunately for him) a future Prince Itachi Fan Club in the works.

---------------------------------------------------------------

**Okay, so it's been...almost seven months? I am sorry, but I did say I was going on hiatus. It has been like...a year since I started this story, and it doesn't even have its feet off the ground. But, on my honor, I will start writing it again. I am now a senior in high school (I start Thursday) and I have college essays to worry about, so I have to get all the practice in that I can. Most of this chapter was already written, I just added an ending.**

**So, once I figure out what I want to happen in this story, it will be easy to write. I hope.**

**In case you are a reader that has forgotten what the story was about, you should go back and remind yourself. Even I had to do that. But I still had a few chuckles over the funnier parts. Look out for more chapters zooming at you in the next couple months!**

**And btw, I really do need some criticisms on my writing now, because I am majoring in creative writing and I want to make a good impression when I hand in my portfolio when I apply, so please help me out.**

**R&R**


	12. Snakes on a Plane

**Don't own anything (and I wasn't lying for once!). Enjoy!**

-----------------------------------------------------

Gaara had been warned about this.

Gaara had been warned about this, and now he was cursing himself for not listening to Lee last night.

As Hyuuga Neji stood hovered over the redhead's cowering form with a twisted smile on his face, Gaara thought back to the conversation he had had with the one formerly known as "thick-brows" the night before…

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**ilinerboy: **hey lee

**eyebrowsaresexi: **hey! how was your first day?

**ilinerboy: **eh…that's why i'm iming you, I was wondering if you could tell me about a couple of the seniors in latin, that's the only class I dunno anyone

**eyebrowsaresexi: **it just so happens, my little emo friend, that i was on a journey to relieve my bladder and glanced into the very class of which you speak and know exactly who to warn you about

**ilinerboy: **…warn me?

**eyebrowsaresexi: **haha jk. i'm surprised you didn't recognize shino and kiba, they're in your grade

**ilinerboy: **oh right, but they were in the corner…doing things, i didn't want to disturb them

**eyebrowsaresexi: **that's crazy! what could they possibly be doing?

**ilinerboy: **you don't wanna know

**eyebrowsaresexi: **okay then…

**eyebrowsaresexi: **also, there's this girl, tenten. she's in my grade and she's really nice

**ilinerboy: **that's good, but i dunno how i feel about approaching strangers on my own…

**eyebrowsaresexi: **you might not have to. after a couple of days, she might just walk to you and introduce herself. that's what she did with me, she's always been pretty outgoing

**ilinerboy: **any others i should know about?

**eyebrowsaresexi: **a couple, there's nara shikamaru. he's actually your age, but he got bumped up a year because he's such a genius

**ilinerboy: **wait…does he have a high ponytail and an obsession with clouds?

**eyebrowsaresexi: **haha yeah

**ilinerboy: **he was sitting with kiba and shino. when the teacher asked him a question, he said that it was too "troublesome" to answer

**eyebrowsaresexi: **yeah, he's the laziest person in the school, guaranteed

**ilinerboy: **thanks a lot lee, maybe latin won't be such a nightmare after all

**ilinerboy: **but i have to go, so see you tomorrow

**eyebrowsaresexi: **wait! there's one more person you should know about

**ilinerboy: **okay…

**eyebrowsaresexi: **you should be wary of hyuuga neji

**ilinerboy: **hinata's cousin?

**eyebrowsaresexi: **you know him?

**ilinerboy: **heard of him, more like

**eyebrowsaresexi: **well, be careful. he's one of the biggest jerks i've ever met. he has a mean streak in him, and no one really knows why

**ilinerboy: **okay, i'll watch out for him

**eyebrowsaresexi: **do more than that. avoid him at all costs. he has a lot of power in the school, and he always gets what he wants

**ilinerboy: **thanks lee, i'll look out, but i really have to go

**eyebrowsaresexi: **don't let me keep you from the magic of youth!

**ilinerboy: **okay…bye

**eyebrowsaresexi: **bye

**Auto response from ilinerboy (8:50:40 PM): **i could not help but noticing  
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Tom Brokaw announcing his love for puppies  
Pictures of Oprah Winfrey fucking robots, for sale on E-Bay  
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sold to the highest quitter

-----------------------------------------------------

Well, Gaara hadn't quite taken Lee's words to heart because when he saw Neji walking behind him on the way to English, the ignorant redhead hadn't run for cover like he now knew he should have.

"Hello," said Neji, reaching out his hand towards Gaara. "I'm Hyuuga Neji. I'm sure you've heard of me. We have Latin together." Gaara looked up at the taller boy and grabbed his hand hesitantly as he nodded.

"Gaara."

"Nice to meet you Gaara. I was wondering if you would like to come to the movies with me tonight, it being Friday and all." By the look on the Hyuuga's face, Gaara could tell that this wasn't a question. Regardless of whether or not he actually wanted to go out with Neji (he didn't), he had already made plans with Sasuke and Naruto.

"S-sorry, I can't, I've already got plans."

Neji's smile didn't falter, but his steely eyes became even colder than they were moments before. "It's because I'm a guy, right?" Gaara started walked sideways towards Kurenai's classroom. "A guy can't be attracted to another guy, is that it!"

The hallway was almost empty, and Gaara turned away from the Hyuuga and broke into a run. Right before he turned into the class, he heard Neji shout, "You will be mine, little Gaara! I always get what I want!"

-----------------------------------------------------

The first thing Gaara did when he walked into Latin was join Shikamaru, Kiba and Shino in the back corner of the room. They were all staring at him awkwardly for a moment, but when he invited them to come see Snakes on a Plane with him, Sasuke and Naruto later, they all seem to warm up a little.

"Yeah, Latin isn't going to be so bad," the redhead said to himself as he leaned back on his chair and smiled, ignoring Neji's glares.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Let me ask you something Gaara," Naruto said as he stood in line for junior mints. "Are you scared…of snakes?" The playful blond pulled a rubber snake out of his jean pocket and flung it at the redhead, who rolled his eyes and sipped his Pepsi.

"Grow up, Naruto," Sakura scolded. It seems Gaara wasn't the only one inviting people. Sasuke had invited Sakura, who invited Ino, who was overheard inviting Chouji by Lee. And it seemed that Naruto was getting closer than ever to Hinata, who was hiding from the crowd behind the blond.

As everyone took their seats, Sakura sighed in playful annoyance as the row filled up, leaving her and Lee all to themselves a few rows down. "Oh, what a cute couple," Ino giggled as she offered her popcorn to Chouji. "They grow up so fast." The blonde wiped an imaginary tear from her eye and made a grab for Chouji's M&Ms.

Sakura turned around and gave Ino a dirty look, before turning back towards the screen as Lee put his arm around her shoulder possessively and whispered something in her ear.

"Oh, when will I find a man like that for me?" Ino cried dramatically. Her eyes caught Chouji's and he turned away, blushing.

"Junior mint?" Naruto asked, handing the box to Hinata, who blushed and declined. "Shika?"

"No thanks, chocolate mixed with breath freshener is troublesome."

-----------------------------------------------------

"Oh man, that movie was awesome!" screamed Naruto as they exited the theater. "Samuel L. Jackson is my hero!" The excited blond put his arms around Hinata's and Shikamaru's shoulders and walked on ahead, reliving every detail of the movie.

Lee offered Sakura, Ino and Chouji a ride home. Kiba and Shino (who had been as discreet as they could stand in the public of the theater), were nowhere to be found, but mysterious slurping noises were coming from inside the men's bathroom.

Leaving Gaara and Sasuke to amble back to his car in the dark parking lot. "I know I parked it around here somewhere," Sasuke said, pushing the button on his keys to light up the headlights.

Gaara teeth were chattering from the cool night air. "So how'd you like the movie?"

Sasuke smiled. "It was pretty lame."

"Haha yeah, but Naruto seemed to like it a lot."

"That's Naruto for you."

The two of them continued looking for Sasuke's car in silence, but Gaara had the sneaking suspicion that they weren't alone. "Do you…feel like we're being watched?" he asked tentatively.

"Aw, is wittle Gaara afwaid of da dark?" Sasuke teased, pushing the redhead's shoulder playfully. "Maybe he needs a huggle wuggle." Before Gaara could react, Sasuke had his arms around the redhead's waist in a tight embrace. "That better?" he asked softly, his mouth up against Gaara's ear.

The redhead's heart pounded heavily against Sasuke's chest, and before even realizing what he was saying, he whispered, "Yeah." The Uchiha let go quickly and gave Gaara a strange look before pointing behind him.

"There it is! Right by the theater!" he said with relief before running towards it. Gaara ran after him, not knowing that he was, in fact being watched.

-----------------------------------------------------

**So, here it is! Chapter 12! The first thing I have written in like 7 months! Aren't you excited! I'm excited! Yeah!**

**Haha, sorry. The first day of my last year in high school is tomorrow, and I am a little wired.**

**Anywho, the song in Gaara's away message is "Robots" by TV on the Radio. Cracks me up every time. And as far as Snakes on a Plane is concerned, I haven't seen it, but it was the only movie I could think of that Naruto would like. Haha.**

**Yeah, okay. R&R and wish me luck for tomorrow!**


	13. A Game of Cat and Mouse

**Yay for updating! I don't own anything! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Gaara, pay attention!"

"Huh?"

"What did you get for question three?"

"Um…" Gaara looked down at his blank homework sheet and sighed. "I…didn't get that one."

Itachi glared for a moment before moving onto his next victim. Gaara frowned to himself before absentmindedly returning to his doodles of Sasuke chibis. "If Shikamaru was in here, he would have said AP Chemistry was troublesome," the redhead thought to himself as he realized what he was drawing and blushed.

The bell rang, and everyone stood up and rushed towards the door, Gaara included. "Could you stay for a second, Gaara?" said Itachi quietly. The redhead looked out into the hallway longingly but walked instead towards the older Uchiha's desk. "You haven't been doing your homework these past few weeks. I always thought you were a hard worker." Gaara didn't say anything. "Is this really the impression you want to leave in the beginning of junior year?"

"No, I've just been…distracted," said Gaara as he watched a bug fly in from the open window of the classroom.

"Yes, I've noticed that…" Itachi said with a small smile as he picked up the quiz they had taken yesterday. Gaara's eyes grew wide as he realized that his little pictures of Sasuke were not limited to his notes. In between each question was a familiar chibi with bad hair and dark eyes. Itachi's smile didn't drop. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me, but don't let my brother keep you from what's really important," he said, handing Gaara the homework that was due tomorrow. The redhead blushed and hurried off to his next class, cursing at himself for being so air headed.

* * *

"What are you being for Halloween tomorrow?" Sasuke read to himself the note Naruto had just passed him and rolled his eyes. "And the idiot wonders why he is failing physics…" the Uchiha thought to himself as he scribbled a response. "I'll never tell." 

"Come on, Gaara told me."

"No, he didn't. Stop trying to get me to tell you."

"Pretty please?"

"You will just have to be surprised like the rest of the school."

"Ah, young love." Sasuke and Naruto looked up surprised as they realized the whole class, including Gai, was watching their little note-passing game. "Oh please, don't let me keep you from the joys of youth," their enthusiastic teacher cried, giving them a thumbs up and returning to the board. "Okay class, if you dropped a golf ball from the empire state building…"

"Naruto, I am going to kill you," read the last note that Sasuke sent the blond before the bell rang and they rushed off to gym.

* * *

"What…the fuck…are you supposed to be?" asked Gaara, amused as he looked at (what he hoped) was Naruto. It was hard to say for sure, however, because he was donning a bright purple and blue wig, a sparkling black dress, and huge hooker boots (there is no other way to describe them). 

"I'm a drag queen," laughed the blond as he opened his locker. "You got a problem wif dat?"

Gaara laughed and shouldered his backpack. "Nope, whatever makes you happy."

"You're one to talk, what the heck are you?"

"I'm a mouse, duh!" exclaimed the redhead as he pointed to his rounded ears. They both smirked at the Mean Girls reference (although, if you asked them, they both would deny having seen it). "Where's Sasuke?" asked Gaara in what he hoped was a nonchalant voice.

"I have no idea. He wouldn't tell me what he was being," said Naruto with a frown.

"Omigosh, look! It's the boy who lived!" Naruto looked around for who said this and was surprised at Hinata (who was dressed as Raggedy Anne) as she appeared right next to him. She hadn't been there a second ago…

"What are you talking about, Hinata?" asked the blond, looking in the direction that she was pointing before chuckling at what he saw. Uchiha Sasuke was marching down the hall with a broom over his shoulder. He was wearing circular glasses and had a lightning bolt painted onto his forehead, and he was dressed all in black.

"So nice of you to join us, Potter," said a greasy voice as Sasuke joined them. They all looked around and laughed as Shikamaru appeared from behind a door. His hair was slicked down to the sides of his face and there was a smoking cauldron taped to his stomach. "It just so happens that Halloween isn't as troublesome as I thought," he mumbled.

"Lee, get away from me!" a familiar cry of exasperation came from around the corner. Everyone turned to look as a huge strawberry came running around the corner, followed closely by a large and extremely yellow banana who had hints of large eyebrows.

"What are you guys supposed to be, underwear?" shouted Naruto as the fruits came running past them.

"Fuck off!" shouted the strawberry as she hurried past them in the direction (and hopefully, safety) of Kakashi's classroom.

"Halloween is going to rock this year!" shouted the drag queen as he/she punched a fist into the air and went running after them.

Harry Potter gave the mouse a smile. "Shall we?" he asked, offering his arm.

"We shall," said the mouse, blushing as he took Harry's arm and the pair skipped down the hall after the parade.

* * *

"We must stop meeting like this, little Gaara," whispered Neji huskily as he managed to corner the redhead once again on his way to English. "People will start to talk." Gaara glared at the Hyuuga (who was, coincidentally, sporting cat ears) and pushed him out of his way. 

"I'm going to be late for class." Neji grabbed Gaara's arm and spun him around.

"Not so fast, you think you can blow me off to make out with some Uchiha freak?" Gaara's eyes widened in anger and realization.

"What? That was like…a month ago, and we didn't make out, and don't call him a freak!"

"I'll do what I please," said Neji, his eyes burning into Gaara's.

"If anyone's the freak, it's you. You're the one who goes around stalking people!" The Hyuuga slammed the redhead into the wall.

"Listen, you little shit. I told you before, I always get what I want."

* * *

_"Take out the garbage, you little shit!"_

_"What are you staring at, you little shit?"_

_"It's all your fault, you little shit!"_

* * *

Suddenly, Neji found himself pinned to the floor with Gaara's legs, and his face was being pummeled with pale fists. 

"Don't…call…me…a…little…shit!" screamed Gaara between punches. The redhead felt Neji's nose break beneath his knuckles and realized what he was doing. He quickly got up off the Hyuuga and ran towards the bathroom to wash the blood off his hands. Neji pushed his body off the ground with his elbows, ignoring the crimson dripping down his face. "You will be mine, little Gaara."

The Hyuuga stood up and headed towards the senior parking lot.

* * *

"Say cheese!" squeaked Itachi as he snapped a picture of Sasuke and all of his friends. Harry Potter and Snape, a mouse, a drag queen, Raggedy Anne, a banana and a very reluctant strawberry gave a fake smile before starting for the door. 

"It's a shame Ino and Chouji couldn't make it," sighed Naruto as he walked outside into the cool night air. "Strange that they both got colds at the same time…"

"Well, we know at least that Shino and Kiba are having a good time," Gaara said to no one in particular.

"Yeah, when I asked them what they were being for Halloween, they said they were wearing their birthday suits," smirked Sasuke as he shook his pillowcase out into the wind.

"Remember, don't talk to strangers! Don't eat apples! Don't do anything illegal!" shouted Temari after them as loud as she could to make sure everyone in the neighborhood could hear. Snape looked back and blushed before going on ahead to talk with the drag queen.

"Aren't they a little old to be trick-or-treating?" asked Itachi as he wrapped his arms around the blonde's waist and watched the strange group as they disappeared into the dark.

"Who cares? We get to be alone," Temari said as she turned around and kissed the Uchiha.

"Not for long," Itachi said, breaking away from the kiss and grabbing a DVD case off the counter. "I think this calls for a Japanese-scary-movie-marathon." Temari smiled at him.

"Okay, only if you will protect me," she said seductively as she pulled him towards the couch. Itachi plopped in Audition and put an arm around the blonde's shoulder. It was going to be a fun night.

* * *

**So yeah, there is a little time skip, but the story was going too slow for my liking, so i skipped like...a month. Yeah, I hope that's okay with everyone...**

**Anyway, I actually did update, and it didn't take me months! Aren't you happy? The only reason I really updated was because I am procrastinating because I don't wanna write my scholarship essays.**

**-cries-**

**Growing up sucks. For anyone younger reading this, don't grow up. Fly away with Peter Pan and you won't regret it. Fo serious. Gah! Senior year is so stressful.**

**Okay, that's enough of me ranting, R&R. I hope you liked it!**


	14. Someone Call Dr 90210!

**awkward silence with assumed disclaimers and such**

* * *

Naruto had called it an "attack on their rights." Sasuke had called it "idiotic." Gaara had rolled his eyes. But there was no avoiding it. They needed jobs.

This was not just an out-of-the-blue idea. The adults (or as Naruto had called them, "The Nazis") had approached the teens the week before and demanded they start making their own money or stop asking them for theirs. It seemed to be a conspiracy that they had all worked out, figuring the hormonal ones would only comply if everyone else had to do it, too. Naruto thought it was just to get them out of the house more so that "The Nazis" could "make babies." Or in Iruka's case "get boned."

Thus, Naruto, Gaara, Sasuke and Hinata (who was practically attached to Naruto at the hip and was in the situation by her own will) were thrown out into the real world, or as Lee had warned them "Corporate America."

"But we're not in America," said Sasuke, in a bored tone.

"That's not the point," argued Lee as he pushed Sakura into his car and slammed the door shut so she couldn't escape. "It's the principal of the thing." So, they figured the easiest job they could manage would be at Toys R' Us and since it was the holiday season, Toys R' Us was able to give them minimum wage for nights and weekends.

* * *

"Why, Gaara, I didn't know you worked here!" The redhead turned around and tried to suppress a groan of annoyance. What were the chances that Hyuuga Neji would just wander into Toys R' Us unless he had evil intentions? 

"Hi, Neji," he said, in a voice that he hoped sounded intimidating. "Haven't seen you since I smashed your face in."

"That's right, when I called you a little shit…" said the Hyuuga with a smirk. Gaara glared and started placing Mr. Potato Heads onto the shelf behind him. "Don't think you can ignore me, little Gaara."

"He can think whatever he wants," piped up Hinata. Surprised, both Gaara and Neji turned around to see the shy girl peeking over a stack of Bratz dolls in her arms. She was blushing, apparently just as shocked that she'd said anything as the other two were.

"What did you say, you little bitch?" snarled Neji as he started walking towards her, fists clenched. Hinata began backing away, but tripped over a toy car. She let out a cry and fell heavily to the ground. With a sickening "crack", Hinata landed on her wrist as a rain of slutty, Barbie-wannabes crashed into the ground around her. "You forget your place, Hinata."

"And you forget yours, asshole," Naruto said coldly as he stepped between the two Hyuugas. "Get the fuck out before I do something that will hurt you."

"Make me, junio-" Neji didn't get to finished because Naruto had swung his fist right into the Hyuuga's already delicate nose. With a crunch, Neji was thrown backwards into Gaara, who would have fallen onto the floor if Sasuke hadn't miraculously appeared out of nowhere, dropped a spider-man action figure, and hooked his arms around the redhead's waist.

"Gotcha," said Sasuke before hoisting Gaara back onto his feet.

However, the ignorantly smitten Uchiha didn't bother trying to save Neji, whose face became intimately acquainted with the tiled floor. To the horror of the four teens, he didn't get up.

"I think it's time to flee the crime-scene," said Naruto as he picked up Hinata (whose face was streaked with tears from her broken wrist) bride-style and walked quickly towards the front of the store. Sasuke looked at Gaara and couldn't help but smile as he followed Naruto's example, swinging he arms under the still-standing redhead and carrying him through the door, leaving Neji in a pool of blood.

* * *

"There are still no suspects in the attack of Hyuuga Neji, heir to the Hyuuga fortune, who was jumped by four midgets dressed in black on Tuesday. Neji was found unconscious in the local Toys R' Us and was rushed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion. 

'It was too late to save his beautiful face, but at least he is okay,' said his uncle, Hiashi in an interview last week. As most of you know, Neji's parents created the work-out tape empire here in Konoha and were murdered during a robbery of their home ten years ago, leaving behind their son to manage their affairs.

In an unrelated case, Toys R' Us is now hiring for the holi…" Itachi turned the television off and turned, frowning angrily at Sasuke and Gaara, who were sitting on the couch with their heads down. Temari was standing next to the older Hyuuga with a similarly fierce glare on her usually cheerful face.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" he said in a low growl. Sasuke and Gaara didn't say anything, but Itachi furrowed his brows when he noticed that they were smiling. "There's nothing funny about this! Hinata broke her wrist, Neji has a concussion and faces serious amount of plastic surgery…" His voice trailed as Sasuke and Gaara chortled under their breath.

"You think this is a joke?" shouted Temari, coming to the aid of Itachi's failing discipline. "You three…wait, where's Naruto? I though Iruka said they were coming."

Gaara spoke up, still laughing to himself. "He's taking care of Hinata."

"Which is another way of saying, 'taking advantage of her innocence'" said Sasuke. "We've barely seen him at all since she got out of the hospital." Temari looked flustered, but carried on.

"Fine. Well, you three obviously have no idea what it means to have responsibility. As punishment," she continued, ignoring the shocked look on Gaara's and Sasuke's faces, "You will start working at my shop, I've already discussed it with Itachi and Iruka." She ignored the cries of protest and walked out of the room, dragging a clueless Itachi by the wrist.

"I hate being an adult," whined Gaara, standing up from the couch. Sasuke stood up next to him and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but it has its perks," he purred, leaning in close to Gaara's face and winking. The redhead was stunned and started to bend forward to meet the Uchiha's lips, but Sasuke pulled back and ran into the kitchen to grab his car keys. "You wanna ride home?" he asked playfully.

Gaara stood on the spot for a second, still in a daze after being so close to… "Yeah… sure," he said slowly before running after Sasuke.

* * *

**cough**

**Well, I don't really have an excuse for this huge absence in my part...I got accepted to college recently. I got a job because I had too much free time. Hopefully, this long-ish chapter is enough to appease the fans, otherwise, flame me at will.**

**I'll probably be updating more frequently now...that I remembered I _had_ a fanfic. And now that senioritis is in full fever or whatever. Hehe. Well, that's all for now. TBC and R&R.**


	15. A Change of Pants

**A little yaoi never hurt anyone, and I don't own anything!**

* * *

Gaara's tongue was in his mouth. In and out. In and out. There was no "battle for dominance". The redhead hadn't "asked for entrance". He just flat out put his tongue in Sasuke's mouth, and Sasuke liked it. The young Uchiha let out a moan, and he could almost see Gaara smirk, even though his eyes were closed.

"You like that, do you?" said the redhead after a few minutes. "Wait 'til you see what I have in store for you next." Slowly, Gaara moved his tongue from Sasuke's mouth and ran it along his cheek until he was just behind the Uchiha's ear. He began nipping ever so softly at the delicate flesh. With each bite, Sasuke let out a little yelp of pleasure.

Then, Gaara trailed down to Sasuke's collarbone, then to his right nipple, then to his naval, leaving little bite marks the entire time. Sasuke was almost too distracted by the fact that he was naked to notice, until the redhead began licking the quivering tip of his member. The Uchiha's eyes widened and he let out a cry of surprise intertwined with desire. He placed his hand over Gaara's head, urging him to engulf his entire shaft in his mouth. The redhead obliged.

With a loud moan, Sasuke jumped out of his seat in English. He had been sleeping. A small pool of drool was on his blank quiz on their latest book, _The Picture of Dorian Gray_. The Uchiha heard giggling and looked up as he realized that the entire class, including Jiraiya, was staring at him with either shocked or smug faces.

"Uchiha, outside. Now," said Jiraiya in a gruff voice, pointing to the door. Sasuke left the room to a bunch of whispers and more giggling, with his white-haired teacher closely behind him. Jiraiya closed the door. "What do you think you're trying to pull? And I mean that in the most literal sense, Sasuke," he said, pointing to the Uchiha's pants.

Sasuke looked down and realized that his dream had been a little to real. His baggy, dark jeans had an even darker stain right where he must've…

"Sorry, sir, I must have fallen asleep…" he joked out, turning red. Jiraiya smirked and patted him on the back heavily.

"Must have been some dream," he said, breaking out in laughter. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You'd better go to the nurse. She'll probably have an extra pair of pants for you in the Lost and Found bin." With that, Jiraiya turned and walked back in the classroom, leaving Sasuke alone.

He looked around the empty hall. Sheepishly, he put his hands over the stain and walked towards the door towards the junior parking lot. There was no way he could stay in school today after what had just happened.

* * *

"So, you thought you'd have a little fun under your desk, eh, Sasuke?" Naruto laughed as he threw Sasuke's backpack onto the Uchiha's bed. "Why didn't you come back to class? Jiraiya seemed pretty pissed."

Sasuke lay face-down on his bed, his head hidden deep inside the fluff of one of his pillows. It's a good thing too, because his face was still scarlet from embarrassment. He began explaining why he'd left school, but realized that no one could hear him. Rather than moving his head, Sasuke just stopped talking and lay there, motionless.

"I can see you are in the mood for a little cheering up," said Naruto as he flopped onto the bed next to Sasuke.

"So we decided we are going to take you Christmas shopping," said another voice that, with horror, Sasuke realized belonged to Gaara. The redhead joined Naruto and flopped onto the Uchiha's other side. "Christmas break is only a couple weeks away," he continued in an encouraging voice, "That's something to look forward to, isn't it?"

"I don't want to go Christmas shopping," said Sasuke, but it came out more like, "Oo doon woo gooch shoung." His friends still got the gist of the message and sat up to look at each other.

"We thought you'd have that kind of attitude," said Naruto. "So we have a plan B." To Sasuke's relief, he felt his friends roll off the bed and walk out the door, closing it behind them. However, they soon returned, and the Uchiha gasped as he heard the tear of what could only be duct tape. "You're coming shopping with us, whether willingly or otherwise," Naruto cackled evilly.

Sasuke jumped up off his bed, knowing that his friends would not hesitate to kidnap him. "Okay, okay I'll go, you idiots!" he cried out, a little hysterically. "You guys can't even drive anyway."

"Oh, we have our ways," said Gaara with an out-of-character smirk that reminded Sasuke of his dream. The Uchiha blushed and pushed past them, avoiding the redhead's eyes.

"Well, are we going or aren't we?" he asked in an annoyed tone. Silently, but pleased with themselves, Gaara and Naruto followed closely behind him.

* * *

"Do you think Hinata would like this?" asked Naruto eagerly as he held up a corset.

"No," answered Sasuke and Gaara together without even turning around. The blond was obviously in desperate need of some help when it came to shopping for his new girlfriend. When they had gone into Spencer's, Naruto had held up a basket of vibrators enthusiastically. If his friends hadn't stopped him, there's no question that the blond would have bought them all for Hinata.

Since it was pretty clear what kind of present Naruto was looking for, the three of them had reluctantly stopped in Victoria's Secret. Even though the color pink was overpowering, they decided to look around. Gaara thought maybe a gift certificate for his sister, and Sasuke was going to get a thong for Itachi as a gag gift. To their surprise, they hadn't been in there long before Sakura and Lee showed up. Sakura was sporting reindeer ears, and she did not look happy about it. Lee was carrying several lacy bags.

With an excited cry, Lee greeted them and then ran off towards a huge rack of sheer nightgowns. Sasuke walked over to Sakura, almost doubled over in laughter. "Why do you put up with him?" asked the Uchiha between chuckles. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance.

"One," she said, holding up her middle finger in his face, "He has a huge penis," she said, emphasizing the word "huge". "Two," she continued, holding up her other middle finger, "He treats me better than any guy I've ever met, including you idiots." And with that, she walked off to follow her bushy-browed beau. "Come on Lee, you need to get those waxed again."

Sasuke walked up to the register with a pair of black, see-through underwear. "Did you find everything you needed?" asked the cashier, who, Sasuke realized, was TenTen, a senior at Konoha.

"Yeah," he said, turning a little red at the thought of his purchase. He grabbed the bag and ran out of the store, telling Naruto and Gaara he'd be back, he just had to pick some things up at Hot Topic.

* * *

As he sat, hiding under a clothing rack at the punk store with Gaara's present laying abandoned on the floor next to him, Sasuke hung his head in his hands. Heavy-metal versions of Christmas classics were playing in the background, but they were muffled by the layers of black, balloon pants.

The Uchiha was confused. Why had he had that dream? Was he attracted to Gaara? Did that mean he was gay?

Sasuke thought about how open Kiba and Shino were with their relationship. No one seemed to really care about it. Times were changing. But he wasn't sure if he would be able to handle that label. His mind was filled with images of vicious teens, screaming things like, "Fag!" and "Fairy!" at his huddled form.

Why did it have to be a label? Why couldn't he just be with whoever he wanted without being judged? Animals fucked whatever they wanted, why could people be the same way?

"But it's more than sex," Sasuke scolded himself. "I don't want to 'be with' guys. I want to be with Gaara. I want to spend all my time with him. I want to hold him. Talk to him. Be there for him." The Uchiha's mind drifted to their kiss at Sakura's party all those months ago and he blushed again.

He realized what he wanted.

Standing up (and might I add, scaring a couple teenage girls out of their wits), Sasuke left his hiding place and went up to the register to make his purchase.

* * *

**I realized that I hadn't had a Sasuke POV since like, the beginning. And I loooove Sasuke, so there.**

**Oh, and my last chapter wasn't long at all I realized, sorry. There probably won't be another chapter until Christmas, so everyone will have to wait a couple weeks. Hopefully in that time, I will get fired because I don't want to work anymore.**

**-cries-**

**Okay, well I hope you enjoyed it! TBC and R&R.**

**p.s. That was my first yaoi-esque scene, how was it?**


	16. I Saw Gaara Kissing Santa Claus

**Sorry, it's a day late! Sex warning, disclaimers galore!**

* * *

Snow fell gently onto the abandoned streets of Konoha. Not a soul stirred, for everyone who had them was with their families, and everyone who didn't was with their friends.

Wind blew across the empty town, chasing any stragglers into the warmth of the pub. It was Christmas Eve. And you would be hard-pressed to find someone that didn't have somewhere to go, even if it was the bottom of the sake bottle.

Well-endowed snowmen and snowwomen lay scattered across the lawn of the Uchiha mansion. However, the sun had set, and deserted carrots and ugly scarves lay strewn over the snow-covered grass. It seemed the little artists had preferred Temari's creamy, hot chocolate to scantily-clad snow people and inappropriate giggling.

* * *

Naruto looked around the table. It was better than staring longingly at the food that he couldn't eat yet. Hinata sat next to him, more willing to celebrate with her boyfriend than her cold, cold family. Iruka was on the blond's other side, and was the victim of dirty whispering from his masked beau. Yes, despite Naruto's protests and snide remarks, Kakashi was joining them for Christmas Eve dinner.

Next to Kakashi (Naruto assumed Itachi hadn't made the seating arrangements) was Temari, who was teasing the older Uchiha by batting her eyes dramatically at the inattentive Hatake. Then of course, there was Itachi, rolling his eyes and pretending not to care. Across the table, Naruto winked at Sasuke and Gaara, although the younger Uchiha insisted he was only sitting there to protect the redhead from his "unstable" brother, Kankuro, who had insisted on bringing one of his puppets to dinner.

Naruto smiled, even though his stomach felt like it was eating itself for sustenance. What more could anyone want for Christmas than to be surrounded by people he loved (except Kakashi). It was so generous of Sasuke and Itachi to invite them all to dine with them. There were even plans of a sleepover, and the blond couldn't help but chuckle at the prospect.

"Lots and lots of sex," he said, not realizing he had been thinking aloud. He looked over at Hinata and blushed. She laughed at him and lay her head on his shoulder, affectionately. "When are we going to eat, Temari! I'm starved!" The blonde looked at him with a smirk.

"A couple more minutes, you dork! The green bean casserole isn't done yet!" At this, Naruto made a teasingly disgusted face and turned to talk to his friends, hoping that it would take his mind off of his imploding stomach.

"So, what'd you get me for Christmas, Sasuke?" he asked playfully. Sasuke and Gaara looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.

"I didn't…get him anything," Sasuke whispered loud enough so Naruto would hear. "Did you?" Gaara shook his head.

"No, I think I was too busy sexing you up to think about Naruto!" the redhead squeaked even louder. The blond jumped up and appointed an accusing finger.

"I knew your love would get in the way of our friendship!" he shouted. All of the side-chatting stopped suddenly and everyone turned their eyes to the Naruto, who now realized they had been joking. With another blush, he sat down quietly and began playing drums with his forks against his glass plate.

"On that note," Temari said, standing up, "Dinner is served."

* * *

After the turkey had been stripped of all its meat, the empty twice baked potato skins lay in a pile in the middle of the table, the stuffing bowl was bare but for a few meager crumbs at the bottom, everyone was too full to notice that Naruto was missing at the table. They soon realized their mistake, however, as he came bounding in from the front yard with an arm-full of snow. The blond declared war on "the masked horn-ball" and dumped all of the freezing ice onto Kakashi's head.

What ensued was a gory battle, with many losses on both sides. Amid the chaos, Sasuke pulled Gaara up to his bedroom. The redhead was confused at first, but then saw his friend pull a red box with a green bow on top from behind his back. Following suit, Gaara unceremoniously pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Sasuke.

"It's a gift certificate to get something pierced," stuttered the redhead, awkwardly. "I knew you had been talking about it for a while, and…" he was cut off as Sasuke gave him a hug.

"I really appreciate this," the raven-haired teen whispered into Gaara's ear. "Now, it's your turn." As Sasuke watched him eagerly, Gaara opened the thin box and pulled out the picture frame.

"Thanks…Sasuke," he said, confused. "What should I put in it?" Sasuke smirked and picked up a camera from his desk. Gaara wondered where this was going, and if his friend had planned this all out.

"I had an idea," said Sasuke, whose voice sounded so shaky, it seemed like he had been running. Holding the camera up to include both of them, he directed Gaara's gaze up to some strategically placed mistletoe and quickly leaned in and kissed Gaara full-out on the lips, sticking his tongue into the shocked boy's mouth and taking a picture.

Sasuke and Gaara would later look at this picture and laugh, for the redhead looked so shocked, his eyes were like two, green dinner plates. However, their tongues still intertwined, the redhead took the camera from Sasuke's hands and placed it with his picture frame on Sasuke's desk. He pulled away for a moment to make sure he didn't drop his precious gift, but that didn't keep the Uchiha from his fun. Gaara's head turned, Sasuke took to licking and biting the redhead's neck rather passionately.

Gaara gasped. Their limbs entangled, he awkwardly began working his way to Sasuke's bed, which he fell back onto, taking the Uchiha on top of him.

* * *

Naruto would have wondered where his friends were. He would have run through the house and discovered his friends, half-naked, on Sasuke's bed. He would have let out a triumphant laugh and ran back downstairs to tell everyone.

It's a good thing he didn't, because by the time everyone would have come running back up to see what was going on, Sasuke would have had bigger problems than what was in his mouth.

However, the blond did not do any of these things because he was too busy gingerly leading Hinata and her slinged arm into the guest bedroom for his own bed-ridden escapades. The two were rosy pink and nearly frozen solid by the snowball fight that had (to Itachi's dismay) taken place inside the Uchiha mansion. Although the Hyuuga thought he was just taking her to get a change of clothes, for the snow had melted right through to her shivering skin, little did she know, she wouldn't be putting clothes back on for quite some time, but that was okay by her.

Temari and Itachi had decided to warm up in the confines of his own room. And Iruka and Kakashi had taken to a hot bath to heat things up. I won't even mention what Kankuro was doing with his puppet.

* * *

As Gaara lay next to a dozing (and naked, squeeeee) Sasuke, even though he didn't know of the happenings on around the house, the redhead smiled and thought that this was a good Christmas. He said a little prayer, thanking his father for dying. In some other lifetime, maybe things could have worked out for him. Maybe Gaara's family could have remained unbroken and happy with their parents.

But it just wasn't meant to be. And Gaara was grateful for it. Because otherwise, Sasuke and him might not have been drawn together so…intimately. As he curled up into the Uchiha's warm arms, the redhead closed his eyes.

"Maybe, just maybe, things will be okay," he said to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

If only.

* * *

**Haha, okay so here it is. A little shorter than I had hope, but I just didn't feel a full-on yaoi scene was appropriate for Christmas. Just use your imaginations, I guess, and look to the future, where there are promises of many more.**

**OMIGOSH! I love inside-snow ball fights. And crayon fights. Grape fights. And Kool Aid fights (those get a little messy). So don't think this idea is so far-fetched.**

**I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Or Hannukah. Or Kwanza. Or Solstice. Whatever. Mine was really great. So much food...o man. I probably gained...ten pounds? And then, rather then write the chapter, I played KH2 HARDCORE. That was fun.**

**Anyway, I guess that's enough of me babbling on. The next chapter... in a couple weeks. I have lots of free time now that I've been deferred from Emerson and have to wait until APRIL to find out. God, that's annoying.**

**Okay, okay Anne. Shut up. Shhh. -whispers- TBC, R&R. Happy New Year!**


	17. The Man Behind The Mask

Before any more is said on the one named Uzumaki Naruto, a few things need to be cleared up…

* * *

Several years ago, a little boy with cerulean eyes and a shock of blond hair was born into the world. Tragically, just as his life began, his mother's came to a close. And the boy's young, widowed father was left to raise him all on his own.

It was easy to see that the boy was his father's son. They looked exactly alike. And even as an infant, the boy had taken on his father's playful characteristics. Instead of eating his food, he like throwing it. As soon as he learned to walk, the boy had to be watched every minute, or who knows what trouble he would have gotten into?

His father loved him very much, and thought that his son was worth all the trouble. Pretty soon, despite losing his beloved wife, the boy's father could be seen smiling, laughing even, at the little blond's antics as he ruffled up his hair or chased him around their modest apartment.

As the boy grew old enough to go to preschool, his father was able to go back to work as a professor of mathematics at Konoha University. It didn't take long for the father's lovable attitude to radiate off his body and catch the eye of his young assistant teacher, as well as that of one of his students.

Before the father new what was happening, he was the object of affection of the competing Hatake Kakashi and Umino Iruka.

After months of crushes, quarrels, heartache and heartbreak, the father finally decided that it was Kakashi he loved, but they were all able to maintain a healthy friendship. Of course, Iruka was always a little sour towards the arrogance of his silver-haired defeater, but secretly he stayed hopeful that the father would one day love him like he loved Kakashi.

What Naruto's father loved most about Kakashi was the way he interacted with his beloved son. Even if the little toddler interrupted them under "special circumstances" to report a monster in his closet, Kakashi never hesitated to immediately stop what they were doing and go investigate with the little blond himself. While the father was making dinner, Kakashi wrestled with Naruto like he was his own son, and in a sense, he had become like a parent to the young one.

However, like all good things, the Uzumaki's newfound happiness died. For fun one day, Naruto's father, Iruka and Kakashi had all gone hiking, and a tragic rockslide ended the older blond's life. Kakashi himself had almost died trying to dig out his lover from tons and tons of earth.

No one had been more impacted by the death than Kakashi. After the funeral, he had gone back to his lover's apartment, holding Naruto hostage for days. All that could be heard from behind the door were wails of anguish from both those left behind by this loving man. Finally, at Iruka's insistence, Kakashi emerged with the little blond in his arms. The silver-haired man was wearing a mask. When Iruka questioned it, Kakashi explained that no one would ever see his face again. Without another word, he handed Naruto to Iruka and walked away.

* * *

"Can't I ever watch when you…"

"No," Kakashi answered sharply before slowly running his tongue over Iruka's throbbing member. The brunet moaned. Even closing his eyes, Iruka enjoyed himself in Kakashi's mouth more than anyone's he had ever met.

"This is ridiculous," he managed to let out between gasps, "I know what you look like." Kakashi stopped what he was doing and pulled his mask back over his face.

"Well in that case, you know what your hand looks like, too." With that, he stood up and pulled some sweatpants over his naked legs. Iruka sighed. It was an argument they had had several times. The brunet knew that only when Kakashi showed him his face would the silver-haired man care for him. Maybe not as much as…he had. With him.

Iruka was too scared to ask how Kakashi felt about him. Or, maybe he was just scared because he knew the answer. No one could replace Naruto's father. And no one ever would, no matter how many time Kakashi fucked them up the ass.

"Are you ever going to tell Naruto…" questioned Iruka after a few minutes of silence as he watched Kakashi get dressed. He didn't answer. Kakashi stopped tying his shoe and looked up at his lover, but it was too dark for the brunet to see his face, to see the sadness in his eyes, the regret.

Standing up, Kakashi headed out the door. Iruka didn't bother putting clothes on. He knew Naruto was asleep in the next room, and man could he sleep through anything. The brunet followed Kakashi into the hallway, and was surprised to see him step inside the blond's room and sit on the floor next to his bed.

"Kakashi…" Iruka started, but was hushed by the silver-haired man. Kakashi quietly brushed a few stubborn spikes of hair out of Naruto's face.

"I loved him, you know," Kakashi whispered quietly. "I loved him more than anything. More than my own life." His voice cracked. "My family kicked me out because of him. They won't even talk to me anymore. I'm pretty sure my parents tell people I died."

Naruto stirred in his sleep, and shifted towards Kakashi's warm hand. Had Iruka been able to see his lover's face, he would have seen tears in his eyes. But he silently leaned against the doorframe and watched as Kakashi rested his head onto Naruto's pillow.

"I know I should have been there…for you," he continued, looking into the closed eyes of his would-be son. "But Iruka has done so much better, than I ever could have." Sighing, Kakashi let his eyelids slowly shut.

"I'm sorry, you were just…too much like him. It took me so long to see past it," he sobbed a little. "I suppose it's too late now. Too late to say…I love you."

* * *

Gaara awoke to shouts of "Perverts" and "Michael Jackson wannabes" and groaned a little, just imagining what could have stirred such reactions from his blond neighbor. Although, I think it's pretty safe to say that whatever he guessed wasn't anywhere near the truth.

Naruto pounded on his neighbor's apartment door until Temari answered, brushing her teeth and wearing a bathrobe. The blond pushed past her into Gaara's room. Although most of what he said was not traceable to any human language, the redhead did decipher something about, "Kakashi…asleep…Iruka…naked…doorway…"

Needless to say, the blond called up Sasuke and asked him to pick them up rather than have Iruka drive them to school.

* * *

**Okay, this may seem a little filler-ish (and short), but it was honestly a little side-story that I'd planned from the beginning. Plus, I'm kinda still thinking about how I want Gaara and Sasuke's relationship to progress. And there is always the ever popular Itachi Temari thing. And Neji...what ever happened to him?**

**All this and more to follow in the next couple weeks. If you have any ideas, feel free to tell me, I could always use your input.**

**TBC and R&R!**


	18. Keep it in your pants, Naruto!

**Gasp! I don't own Naruto! Yay for party chapters!**

* * *

Hyuuga Hanabi felt terrible. She felt awful. Her heart ached. Her body shaked. Tears began spilling over the rims of her eyes every time she thought about what her horrid family had done. And it made her even more ashamed to think that she had taken part in the their actions.

Well, I guess it's more like their inactions. For, it is more what her family had not done, rather than what they had.

The Hyuugas had not remembered the birthday of their eldest daughter. Only weeks later, when Hanabi had caught her older sister looking wistfully at an old birthday card did she realize their mistake. The girl was only fourteen, but she was old enough to hatch a plan to cheer up Hinata.

"Hi, Naruto!" she squeaked into the phone, nervous to be talking to a boy three years her senior.

"Hinata? You sound different," said the blond hesitantly. Hanabi rolled her eyes.

"It's not Hinata. It's Hanabi."

"Oh, sorry. Who are you?"

"…"

"Hello?"

"I'm…Hinata's sister."

"Oh." Hanabi could here Naruto blush over the phone line. "What's up…Hanabi?"

"Well, it's sort of embarrassing, but…"

"Hey, kid. Save your sex questions for your dad," Naruto teased.

"Um…okay." This was going to be harder than she thought. "Well, it's just, we forgot Hinata's birthday…" Naruto cut her off.

"Her…birthday?" The young Hyuuga nodded to herself, glad she was getting somewhere.

"Yeah, it was a couple weeks ago and I was thinking…" she stopped herself when she heard a "click" on the other line. She let out a stream of quiet curses and followed suit, hanging up the phone. "What the fuck is a boyfriend for if he can't fucking be counted on for a fucking surprise par…"

"Hanabi!" The young girl spun around and blushed at the towering figure of her father in her bedroom door. "Where did that tongue come from?" Hanabi blushed deeper and mumbled something about "South Park". "Well, remind me to block that show next time I get a chance," he said sternly before dismissing the issue with a wave of his hand. "Anyway, there's a blond kid out on the front porch asking for you, he seemed distraught."

"Oh." Averting her eyes to the floor, Hanabi walked past her father and headed towards the door.

"By the way, have you seen Hinata? I can't find her anywhere." The young Hyuuga shook her head as she walked out the door. "When you get a chance, can you bring Neji's lunch up to him?" Hiashi shouted after his daughter.

"Yeah!" Hanabi shouted over her shoulder as she closed the front door and turned to a very out-of-breath Naruto. "Didn't I…just get off the phone with you?" she asked, uncertain. Naruto nodded unsteadily as he stood bent over in exhaustion.

"I…ran…here," he responded between gasps. Hanabi stared at him.

"Okay…well I'm glad to see you are so dedicated to Hinata's birthday," she started as she leaned her elbows onto the railing of the porch, looking over the bustling city of Konoha.

"What did you have in mind?" the blond said, a little stronger than before as he leaned next to her and smirked. As the two troublemakers schemed, on the other side of town, Hinata was trying to work out something that had been a little more…unplanned.

"Miss…Hyuuga?" addressed a nurse uncertainly as she checked the name on the folder and looked at the quiet girl sitting on the hospital bed and fidgeting. "Your test results are in…"

* * *

It had been cake. It had been easier than cake. It had been store-bought, pre-frosted with sprinkles on top cake.

"But it tastes sooo much better," Hanabi giggled to herself evilly as she stood in line at the supermarket with a large, sheet cake draped over her arms. The young Hyuuga was of course, thinking about her and Naruto's master plan for Hinata's surprise birthday party. It turns out that it had been less tricky than she had originally thought. A teachers' convention was planned for that weekend, and Hyuuga Hiashi was going to be out of town. Of course, he trusted perfect Neji to make sure everything was in order, so he hadn't hesitated to go.

"The fool," Hanabi couldn't help but mutter ominously under her breath, scaring the cashier who was ringing her up. Neji was too upset over his recent plastic surgery and his ruined reputation at school to be concerned about whatever might be happening downstairs, and it was this vanity that Naruto and Hanabi decided to take advantage of.

A piñata had been purchased, as had several decks of cards, a dry-erase board and a couple of interactive DVDs. Dozens of purple balloons floated innocently in the Hyuuga's unused garage and invitations had been passed out to everyone Naruto and Hanabi could think of at school. Naturally, the young Hyuuga had invited a couple of her own freshman friends, but the blond had taken it upon himself to invite those like Ino and Chouji (who, as of late, had hardly been secretive about their relationship) and Sakura and Lee (who were as close as ever).

Naruto handed Gaara the invitations for Kiba, Shino and TenTen, who had to inconspicuously deliver them right under Hiashi's nose. Sasuke was also making an appearance. The redhead and him had not decided to make public their relationship yet, but they were working on it (Naruto already had his suspicions, and of course nothing got past Itachi and Temari). And finally, Shikamaru said that he might be able to come, even though it was "troublesome."

Carefully, Hanabi placed the cake next to her in the backseat of Sasuke's car. Naruto and Sasuke were sitting up front, and she was amused to see that the Uchiha was being grilled (yet again) about his relationship with Gaara. "Now all that's left are the kegs," she said brightly over the bickering of the two juniors.

"Come on Sasuke, I know something's going on," teased Naruto. "I've got a fifth sense." Sasuke didn't say anything to the blond, but looked over his shoulder at Hanabi and said,

"It's going to get pretty loud in here," he said in an irritated voice before cranking up the volume to drown out Naruto's persistent detective work.

_There's blood in my mouth 'cause I've been biting my tongue all week  
I keep on talkin' trash but I never say anything  
And the talkin' leads to touchin'  
and the touchin' leads to sex  
and then there is no mystery left_

_And It's bad news  
Baby I'm bad news  
I'm just bad news, bad news, bad news_

_I know I'm alone if I'm with or without you  
but just bein' around you offers me another form of relief  
When the loneliness leads to bad dreams  
and the bad dreams lead me to callin' you  
and I call you and say "C'MERE!"_

_And it's bad news  
Baby I'm bad news  
I'm just bad news, bad news, bad news_

_And it's bad news  
Baby it's bad news  
It's just bad news, bad news, bad news_

_'Cause you're just damage control  
for a walking corpse like me - like you_

_'Cause we'll all be  
Portions for foxes  
Yeah we'll all be  
Portions for foxes_

Over the music, and over her laughter, Hanabi could swear she heard Naruto's voice shout out, "IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE SOME SORT OF HINT?"

* * *

Hinata was surprised. She was beyond surprised. She had walked down the stairs to get some dinner only to be greeted by a small crowd shouting "HAPPY BIRTHDAY," wearing party hats and already breaking open the first keg of beer.

She was so surprised that she started crying. Hanabi was startled at first, and began to go comfort her sister, but she saw Naruto step out of the crowd and give Hinata a strong hug while whispering calming things into her ear. The younger Hyuuga was then pleased to see a wide smile spread over her sister's face. She so rarely smiled.

It was beautiful.

A few hours and a few kegs later, the party was well underway. Remains of the piñata (that had beared a strange resemblance to a certain masked teacher that Hanabi had seen roaming the halls reading smutty romance novels) lay strewn over the floor. The young Hyuuga had almost tripped over the abandoned and uncapped markers from Pictionary (which had gotten so intense that Shikamaru had decided to go home before he was seriously injured).

The group had started playing a movie trivia game, but most of them were too drunk by then to recognize any major actors of the 20th century and decided instead to play strip Black Jack.

It was then that Hanabi decided to grab her friends and head upstairs. The poor girls…it had been their first high school party and they had probably had too much to drink. Protesting slightly, the young Hyuuga's friends walked up the steps, looking longingly at Sasuke (who had just hit when he should have stuck and was reluctantly taking off his shirt to reveal rippling pectorals). However, they quickly averted their eyes when they received a death glare from the strange, emo redhead who had just won the game.

When everyone was mostly naked and/or passed out, Sasuke and Gaara looked around to find that Naruto and Hinata were missing in action. "Where did those two lovebirds go?" Sasuke asked himself as he picked up his shirt and started pulling it onto his back.

"Hey, let's not be so hasty," said Gaara a little slurred, standing up quickly and pulling Sasuke's shirt off again. The Uchiha laughed softly.

"Had a little to drink, Gaara?" he asked, grabbing the redhead's face and bringing it close to his own as if to smell the beer on his breath. "I s'pose it is the perfect time for me to take advantage of you." Gaara smirked and leaned in to kiss Sasuke, but jumped when he heard Lee (who was asleep on top of Sakura) mumble incoherently about "enjoying youth."

"Perhaps somewhere with a little more privacy," he whispered into Sasuke's ear before he licked it. The Uchiha leaned back and caught Gaara's lips in his own, sticking his tongue invasively into the redhead's mouth and moaning quietly in agreement. Lips still locked, the two began heading blindly for the staircase, where they worked their way up carefully.

As Gaara began viciously attacking Sasuke's neck, the Uchiha turned to open the first door he could find, only to grab the redhead's body and hold him away from him when he saw who was behind the door.

Neji was lying in bed. His body was propped up with pillows and his head was turned away from the door. The Hyuuga was looking out the window, seemingly unaware that his bedroom door had just been opened. Sasuke was pleased to see the bandage on Neji's nose, and the bruised skin around his eyes.

The Uchiha was about to say something when Gaara placed a finger over his mouth. The redhead was looking at Neji in a strange, transfixed sort of way. It was then that Sasuke noticed tears sliding down the sides of the Hyuuga's bandaged face and dripping off of his chin onto his rising and falling chest.

Neji was crying. And as much as Sasuke would have loved to make him feel even worse, Gaara reached over and closed the door. The two stood awkwardly in the hall for a minute.

"Now what?" asked Sasuke, still at odds about Gaara's behavior. The redhead wrapped his arms around the Uchiha's neck and kissed his nose playfully.

"Wanna go to the beach?"

"But…the water's gotta be freezing!"

"Not in the water, _on_ the beach," Gaara emphasized the word "on" and Sasuke realized what he was talking about. With a knowing nod, he grabbed Gaara's hand and headed over to Hinata's bedroom.

He knocked on the door.

No answer.

He knocked again.

Still nothing.

Just as he started to reach for the doorknob, Naruto hastily opened the door. All he was wearing were boxers. Sasuke hid their clasped hands behind his back. "We're gonna get out of here Naruto." The blond gave them a blank stare.

"Okay." Gaara and Sasuke looked at each other. No snide remarks? No "use protection" talk? Not even a wink?

"Um…is everything okay, Naruto?" inquired the redhead, trying to peer over the blond's shoulder, where he thought he caught a glimpse of Hinata, sitting on the bed and crying. Naruto stood up taller to hinder his view.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Just peachy. Just dandy. No one's pregnant in here." With that, Naruto shut the door in his friends' faces. They looked at each other again, and they were both thinking the same thing.

"Did he just say _pregnant_?"

* * *

**Yeah, so another party chapter. This has got to be like...the second longest chapter. I might get a yaoi chapter up for tomorrow...we'll see.**

**Anyway, what'd you think? You likey? It's getting pretty deep now. No turning back. But anyway, I am starting to hate myself about Neji...I mean, he is one of my favorite characters from the series. But...**

**-cries-**

**So...yeah. Stay tuned.**


	19. Fill me Up, Bartender!

**Okay, I forgot to mention that the song in the last chapter was "Portions for Foxes" by Rilo Kiley. And in case I forget again, "How to Save a Life" by the Fray is in this chapter. Yeah, I'm on a Grey's Anatomy kick. **

**Yaoi warning. Democrat warning. Yadda yadda yadda. I own nothing!**

* * *

"Sasuke, I didn't bring you out here to make out," teased Gaara before Sasuke clasped his lips in his own again. The Uchiha sighed and rolled his eyes, finally breaking away from the heated kiss.

"I'm the one that drove us to the beach," he argued playfully as he ran his hand over Gaara's smooth stomach. The two had discarded their clothes long ago and were now lying naked on the blanket that had conveniently been hidden in Sasuke's car. The redhead had placed it in there that afternoon, and when the Uchiha had raised his eyebrow in question, he'd replied with a laugh, "I am not getting sand in certain places."

"Fine, have it your way, Gaara," said Sasuke, pretending to sound disappointed. "Haven't you ever heard of a little foreplay?" With that, he led a trail of playful nibbles to Gaara's ear, a particularly sensitive spot for his lover. The redhead let out a little moan as Sasuke massaged the back of his lobe with his tongue fervently.

"Ye…yes," Gaara answered shakily as the Uchiha worked his way down to his neck, where he began sucking with equal vigor. The redhead stroked Sasuke's back, egging him on. Sasuke obliged, continuing onto Gaara's nipples, which each received a quick lick before the Uchiha roughly stuck his tongue into the redhead's naval, working his way in and out.

Gaara moaned again, this time whimpering Sasuke's name. This drove the Uchiha over the edged, and he quickly began stroking the redhead's member, which grew harder at every touch. Once it was firm enough, Sasuke engulfed it in his mouth, nibbling the sensitive tip mischievously before deep-throating.

Up and down.

Up and down.

Up and down.

With every bob of Sasuke's head, Gaara let out a louder moan and struggled to grab hold of something besides the sand surrounding them on all sides. He finally decided to hold onto the Uchiha's shaggy, black hair, forcing his mouth deeper and deeper onto the redhead's now throbbing member. Sasuke used his tongue to stroke Gaara's member, pushing him closer to release.

Finally, with an unsteady cry, Gaara came in Sasuke's mouth, and the Uchiha swallowed every drop. Pulling the redhead's steadily softening flesh out of his mouth, Sasuke looked up at Gaara with a smirk. "You taste good," he cooed quietly. The redhead smirked and let out a ragged breath before opening his eyes to look at Sasuke.

"I'm glad." The Uchiha leaned forward and kissed Gaara passionately before standing up and heading towards his discarded pants a few feet away. The redhead looked at the lightening sky. Dawn was fast approaching, but no one would be coming to the beach in January. With a quizzical look, Gaara asked, "Leaving so soon?" Sasuke laughed and looked over his shoulder, giving him a wink.

"It's my turn now," he said as he reached into his pants pocket and grabbed what could only be a tube of lube. Gaara chuckled.

"Do you carry that stuff everywhere?"

"You never know when it will come in handy," Sasuke answered quickly before plopping back onto the blanket and giving Gaara another passionate kiss. "Can you imagine if Naruto found this?" he asked, laughing as he squeezed some onto his hands and rubbed it onto himself as well as Gaara's sensitive hole. The redhead had a sharp intake of breath as Sasuke stuck a couple fingers in and moved them around, readying Gaara for himself.

The Uchiha kissed Gaara again, distracting him from the pain as he slowly thrust his fingers in and out.

Finally, after a few minutes of preparation, Sasuke removed his fingers and began working his member into Gaara. The redhead let out a little cry and a tear rolled down his cheek.

"I s'pose I'll never get used to this," he laughed nervously when Sasuke was uncomfortably wedged between his legs. The Uchiha gave him a little look of pity, regretting that he was causing Gaara such pain, but then smirked.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad, is it?" he asked with a laugh as he thrust into Gaara, knowing that he was about to hit gold.

The redhead screamed as Sasuke's tip grazed his prostate and his back arched into the Uchiha, longing for more. Sasuke pulled out and then thrust back in with the same force, hitting Gaara's prostate again. The Uchiha bent over and kissed the redhead on the forehead lightly before pulling out and pushing himself back in quickly, establishing a rhythm to which Gaara agreed with small moans and cries.

With one hand, the Uchiha kept Gaara's hips steadily elevated. With his other, Sasuke began stroking the already hardening member of his lover, keeping in rhythm with his thrusts and Gaara's cries of pleasure.

In and out.

Up and down.

Gasp and moan.

For a few moments, the pair kept up this pace, but it didn't take long for Gaara to climax again. As his muscles tightened around Sasuke's member, the Uchiha let out a loud moan and came inside the redhead.

Exhausted, the two stayed intertwined for a couple of minutes before Sasuke finally pulled out and lied down next to Gaara on the blanket.

As they lie their, panting, naked, the red sun began to peak over the calm, gray water. The rays shone soft and pink on their flushed skin as they basked silently in the aftermath. Neither wanted to break the quiet blanket that had settled over them, but finally, Gaara spoke up.

"When are we going to tell people?" he asked, looking over at Sasuke, who was shielding his eyes from the light with his forearms.

The Uchiha was about to answer when his phone started buzzing in his pants pocket. Sighing, Sasuke slowly stood up, stretched his arms and rummaged through his clothes to answer.

"Hello? Oh, hi Naruto," said the Uchiha looking over at Gaara and winking. "Drive you and Hinata somewhere? Uh, sure. Yeah. Let me just shower and I'll be over in like, half an hour. Okay. Bye."

He gave Gaara a look. "Remember what Naruto said last night?" The redhead nodded. "You don't think…"

"I dunno." Sasuke started putting his pants on over his legs. The redhead followed suit and began getting dressed. As the Uchiha pulled his shirt over his arms, he sighed sadly.

"I hate being an adult." Gaara walked over to him and kissed him strongly before pulling away and looking at Sasuke with laughing eyes.

"Yeah, but it has its perks," he said, before he began running towards Sasuke's car. The Uchiha grabbed the love-stained blanket and chased after Gaara, still wondering if Naruto had been serious and if that meant what he thought it meant.

* * *

This was one of the few times Sasuke hated being right.

As Hinata sat sobbing in his backseat with Naruto trying to comfort her, Sasuke gave a worried look to Gaara, who was sitting next to him. "The…abortion clinic?" he choked out, catching the blond's eye in the rearview mirror. Naruto nodded solemnly before looking down at the floor. Hoping to ease the tension in the car, Sasuke turned on the radio.

_Step one you say we need to talk  
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk  
He smiles politely back at you  
You stare politely right on through  
Some sort of window to your right  
As he goes left and you stay right  
Between the lines of fear and blame  
And you begin to wonder why you came _

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best  
Cause after all you do know best  
Try to slip past his defense  
Without granting innocence  
Lay down a list of what is wrong  
The things you've told him all along  
And pray to God he hears you  
And pray to God he hears you

As the music played on and Sasuke drove into downtown Konoha, he looked into the backseat again and was glad to see Hinata's sobbing turn to light crying. She leaned on Naruto's shoulder and looked out the window. The Uchiha could only hope that she would be okay. That Naruto would be okay.

He could only hope that this would mend itself, and everything would go back to normal.

As Sasuke dropped them off, Naruto turned back and asked quietly if they could come back in a little while to pick them up. Sasuke and Gaara nodded in unison. As the blond slammed the door, the two looked at each other with wide eyes. "Some birthday present," the Uchiha muttered under his breath before he could stop himself.

"Yeah," Gaara added quietly. Trying to take his mind off of things, he said, "Well, it looks like we have some time to kill. Wanna grab a bite?" Sasuke raised his brows in surprise. The redhead rolled his eyes and punched the Uchiha lightly. "Not that, you pervert. Something to eat. I'm starved."

* * *

Neither of them said a word as they sat across from each other at Wendy's, both lost in their own thoughts about their best friend. They were so preoccupied that neither of them noticed a large, burly man with red hair stand next to their table until the sun was blocked.

"Hey fag, want some fries with that shake?" he said sourly as he dumped his left-over fries onto Gaara's head. They both looked up in surprise.

"What?" Sasuke hissed in realization, standing up so fast that his chair went flying backwards. Gaara looked up, worried.

"No, Sasuke. It's okay…"he started, but stopped as the Uchiha gave the man a hard shove, pushing him into the wall roughly.

"What…the fuck…did you say?" he said, words like venom as he grabbed the man's collar and began shoving his fists into his skin, leaving bruises with his grip. The man looked a little scared, even though he was a lot larger than Sasuke.

"Nuh…nothing," he stammered. Sasuke growled and hardened his grip on the man's collar.

"Don't give me that shit! Apologize! Now!"

"Hey, queer, get your own boyfriend," shouted a voice from behind him. Sasuke turned around quickly only to be met with the very bony fist of what could only be this jerks girlfriend. The Uchiha let go of the man and went sprawling sideways in the opposite direction. His face hit the corner of an abandoned table with a thud. Before they could get in trouble, the man and woman split like a banana, leaving Gaara to do a lot of explaining when the manager was called out.

* * *

"It's not that bad," said Gaara lightheartedly as he pressed the cold pack the manager had given him up to Sasuke's bruised eye. The two were sitting in the Uchiha's car outside the abortion clinic. They sat in silence after that, munching thoughtfully on some of the free fries the manager had given them before rushing them out the door, muttering something about "lawsuits."

What seemed like only a few minutes later, Naruto and Hinata stepped gingerly back into the car, only to be met by a barrage of cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets. "Eat up, you two, and don't ask," he added when Naruto opened his mouth questioningly. Everyone looked at Hinata, who smiled softly before opening up the nearest burger and taking a bite.

* * *

**Gasp! Okay, there had been hints of it before, but this was like...a full-on yaoi scene. It was my first. I did a lot of research for you guys -laughs- so I hope it was worthy...**

**Anyway, what do you think about Hinata getting an abortion? I bet you all thought she would keep it. But I mean, they're only seventeen. There are so many girls at my school that get abortions, so I figured it would be acceptably realistic. This is only the beginning of the drama. Sooo much more. -laughs evilly- Haha and yeah, Hanabi is totally my favorite character. I'm hoping to make her a more central character later on in the story. If not in this story, probably it's sequel.**

**-gasp- A sequel? Why would I need a sequel? Kukukuku.**

**Hmm...I guess that's enough babbling. Probably another online chapter next. I'm trying to change it up a bit to keep you guys (and myself) interesting, so stay tuned. Peace.**


	20. Cybersupport 2: Kankuro's Story

**I know it's been a while, here are the screen names in case you've forgotten and I own nothing!**

**unouluvpinky** - sakura

**numberoneuchiha** - sasuke

**ilinerboy** - gaara

**foxyroxy** - naruto

**eyebrowsaresexy** - lee

**inosr4ever** - ino

**imnohyuuga** - hinata

**fishnetizgod **- temari

**puppetluva **- kankuro

**chocfullonuts** - itachi

**iheartdoritos** - chouji

* * *

"Is thi…this gonna hurt much?" 

Gaara smirked despite himself. He was never going to let Sasuke live it down, the way he'd acted in that big, tough tattoo parlor. The Uchiha had finally gotten up the nerve to use the gift certificate he'd gotten for Christmas. If Gaara hadn't been there to drag the raven-haired boy inside, he was sure that Sasuke would have run from the ominous looking shop. The dark sketches of vampires, dragons and demons contrasted greatly to the otherwise cheery mall, and it had almost been too much for Sasuke to handle.

"Maybe…maybe we could do it another day?" Gaara recalled the Uchiha whimpering and backing slowly away from the door. But he wasn't going to get off that easy.

"I'm working for the next two weeks straight. And you don't want to do this by yourself, do you?" he whispered menacingly as he pushed him towards the door. Sasuke shook his head and gave into the inevitability.

"Yes, this is going to hurt…much," answered the three-hundred pound man that was leaning over the young boy's face with a frightening contraption in his hand. His head was so shiny and bald, Gaara could almost see the reflection of Sasuke's worried face in it as he looked on. The rest of the man was so heavily tattooed that it was hard to tell what color his skin was. The Uchiha reached feebly for the redhead's hand, desperately searching for encouragement. Gaara grabbed his fingers, despite the dirty look the piercer gave them.

"Don't worry," he said in what he hoped was a supportive voice. "It'll just be like getting a shot at the doctor's." The man gave a little snort of disagreement, but thankfully didn't say anything.

"I hate the doctor's!" squealed Sasuke, who sounded on the brink of tears.

"Try being a man, fag!" cried a voice from behind the counter. Gaara would have run over and punched the voice had Sasuke not suddenly grabbed tighter onto his hand.

"Stop squirming so much or I'll pierce your eye by accident." Shocked by the disturbing image that just floated into his mind, Sasuke finally settled down and with a quick "click" and a grunt, it was over.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Gaara sighed as they walked out of the tattoo parlor. He thought he heard the scary piercer whisper something about "getting a sticker" but he ignored it. The redhead put his arm affectionately around Sasuke's waist as they ambled around the mall. Whimpering quietly, the Uchiha raised his hand up to his face and gingerly poked his tender lip.

"Is it red?"

"Not…too red," the redhead replied before giving him a little peck on the nose.

"Would you…fuck me?" Gaara stopped walking so abruptly, Sasuke went on ahead a few steps before doubling back. "Haha, gotcha! Thought you'd be on top for a second, didn't you?" Sasuke put his arm around the redhead's stiff shoulder and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Well…would you?"

Gaara smiled softly. "You do look pretty damn sexy with that thing," he said quietly before leaning up to kiss the Uchiha, careful not to irritate the newly-found hole in Sasuke's face.

"There's a reason they have gay bars, you know!" cried someone from a few feet away. They both stopped quickly to look at who had said it, but there were several people walking around. It could have been any of them.

"Tell you what," Gaara said, deciding to ignore the comment. "How bout I treat you to some ice cream to sooth your aching war-wounds?" Sasuke didn't answer for a minute and glared out angrily into the crowd. "Sasuke?" The Uchiha's head jolted back a little, as if he had been somewhere else.

"Yeah. I like me some strawberry," he said playfully, giving Gaara's cheek a little lick before heading towards the ice cream shop.

* * *

"What do you want for dinner, babe?" called Temari from the kitchen. Itachi was in the next room, working on his lap top. 

"Whatever you wanna make," he called back. It was quiet for a minute before the blonde bent over his body on the couch. She looks just as good upside-down, the Uchiha couldn't help but think as she grinned at him.

"How bout spaghetti?" she asked. Itachi grimaced slightly.

"That could get a little messy," he laughed, thinking back to their first date. The blonde looked a little put-out.

"Food isn't fun if it's not messy," she whined teasingly. Itachi tilted his head slightly to the side and kissed her with a surprising intensity that made her gasp, giving his tongue unspoken permission inside.

"Could you guys, like, not have sex in the living room?" Gaara said, rolling his eyes as he walked in from the front door. Temari straightened herself out quickly and walked over to him with purpose.

"Don't make me give you the birds and the bees speech again, little brother." The redhead rolled his eyes again and headed for his bedroom door. "Hold on a sec, where exactly have you been?"

"Out with Sasuke," he said, immediately regretting his word-choice. Temari squealed.

"On a…date?" she said with a childlike smile, her eyes wide in playful curiosity.

"No," he said sharply.

"Then, what were you doing?" Gaara looked at Itachi a little nervously and stuttered a little.

"Well…I guess you will see eventually," he said hesitantly. Itachi looked at him with a mockingly scared expression.

"You got my brother pregnant, didn't you, you…pervert!"

"BOYS DON'T HAVE CHILD-BEARING ORGANS, YOU FUCKING MORON!" the redhead cried, slamming his bedroom door in exasperation. Itachi and Temari high-fived before going back to work. Unfortunately, it wasn't the kind of work either of them wanted (i.e. steaminess on the couch). The blonde walked slowly back into the kitchen, and Itachi started typing away at his lap top again.

* * *

You have just entered room "whyistomorrowmonday." 

**chocfullonuts:** hey everyone!

**numberoneuchiha: **ino…why did you invite itachi?

**inosr4ever: **because…he's sexy?

**iheartdoritos: **-pouts-

**inosr4ever: **of course, not as sexy as you, babe

**unouluvpinky: **hold on…you guys are…

**inosr4ever: **yeah…i guess

**unouluvpinky: **aw…congrats

**eyebrowsaresexy: **-thumbs up- enjoy your youth?

**unouluvpinky: **are you going to be an aerobics instructor when you grow up?

**eyebrowsaresexy: **if everything goes according to plan -rubs hands together-

**unouluvpinky: **-rolls eyes-

**imnohyuuga:** hey! you should support your significant other…

**numberoneuchiha: **hey hinata, how are you doing?

**imnohyuuga:** it's not hinata, it's naruto. i'm over her house

**chocfullonuts:** why are you so concerned about hinata?

**numberoneuchiha: **i'm not. mind your own business, bubble boy

**chocfullonuts:** bubble boy?

**numberoneuchiha: **i said it, and i'm not taking it back

**ilinerboy: **speaking of concern, how are _you_ doing, uchiha?

**chocfullonuts:** just splendid, thank you

**numberoneuchiha: **not you, you douche. and don't bring it up, gaara

**chocfullonuts:** bring what up?

**ilinerboy: **oh, you don't want him to know?

**chocfullonuts:** you _are_ pregnant, aren't you, you whore!

**numberoneuchiha: **-blank stare-

**ilinerboy: **-rolls eyes- don't ask

**numberoneuchiha: **…not planning on it

**unouluvpinky: **by the way, when are you guys going to come out to us? we all already know

**numberoneuchiha: **-is innocent-

**ilinerboy: **know what?

**unouluvpinky: **know about…you two…

**imnohyuuga:** yeah, fess up you sex machines!

**numberoneuchiha: **i'll admit to nothing, no matter how you torture me!

**ilinerboy: **word to that

**inosr4ever: **next time you guys go at it, can you videotape it for me?

**iheartdoritos: **why…would you want that on tape?

**inosr4ever: **-stares at feet in shame-

**numberoneuchiha: **there's nothing to tape!

**ilinerboy: **by the way…itachi, could you do me a favor and ask my sister why she has to be a nazi? i'm working like…thirty hours this week

**chocfullonuts:** although i note your quick change of sub

**chocfullonuts:** s;af;;;;;;;;;;

**chocfullonuts:** it's because you're getting too fat for your own good!

**ilinerboy: **…what?

**numberoneuchiha: **stop being such a jerk, itachi

**chocfullonuts:** sasuke's not going to love you anym

**chocfullonuts:** asasasiej2229sf

**chocfullonuts:** sorry, temari stole my lap top

**ilinerboy: **…

**chocfullonuts:** but i guess that answers your question?

**chocfullonuts:** -twiddles thumbs awkwardly-

**chocfullonuts:** i should…get back to work…

_Chocfullonuts has left the room. _

**imnohyuuga:** well, on that note, i'll see you guys later

_Imnohyuuga has left the room._

**inosr4ever: **there are some strange rumors going around about those two…

**unouluvpinky: **yeah, tenten told me she saw them coming out of an abortion clinic a few weeks ago…

**eyebrowsaresexy: **really? that's not like tenten to gossip

**inosr4ever: **she wasn't gossiping, she just told us in passing in the locker room

**unouluvpinky: **yeah, you don't have to jump to conclusions like that, eyebrow man

**eyebrowsaresexy: **-sticks tongue out-

**inosr4ever: **whoa, whoa. no need to get fiesty, you two

**eyebrowsaresexy: **my apologies, ino

**unouluvpinky: **yeah, you apologize to her!

_Unouluvpinky has left the room._

**numberoneuchiha: **what's up with sakura?

**eyebrowsaresexy: **i think it's starting to hit her that i'm graduating soon

**inosr4ever: **oh yeah, forgot about that…

**eyebrowsaresexy: **i'd better call her, see you guys tomorrow…

_Eyebrowsaresexy has left the room._

**inosr4ever: **so…what is it that you don't want itachi to know?

**numberoneuchiha: **oh, haha

**ilinerboy: **sasuke got his lip pierced this afternoon

**iheartdoritos: **awesome!

**numberoneuchiha: **yeah, it _is_ pretty sweet if i do say so myself…

**inosr4ever: **seriously though, when are you two going to come out?

**iheartdoritos: **from one formerly secret relationship to another…

_Numberoneuchiha has left the room._

**ilinerboy: **does that answer your question?

_Ilinerboy has left the room._

**inosr4ever: **why is everyone in a bad mood lately?

**iheartdoritos: **well…it is kind of a stressful time with testing and stuff

**inosr4ever: **still, we should be enjoying it while it lasts

**iheartdoritos: **i know what you mean

**inosr4ever: **we'd better get some sleep, school tomorrow

**iheartdoritos: **yeah…g'nite! love you!

**inosr4ever: **love you too, babe!

_Inosr4ever has left the room._

_Iheartdoritos has left the room._

_Puppetluva has entered the room._

**Puppetluva: **-looks around-

_Puppetluva has left the room._

_

* * *

_

**So...it's been nearly a month. I have no excuses except my laziness. Senioritis is a bitch, but definitely something to look forward to, little ones. Wait...what are you doing reading a mature story? Haha jk.**

**Anyway, I got my first unintelligent flame. It was for my other story, "Never Really Home." It made me laugh. Man, how I hated that story by the end of it. I like this one much more. It's more interesting, has more versatility. You know the drill. You guys must like it more, too because it has almost 9,000 hits! I am amazed at how popular it is. Thank you so much for your support. I am sorry I am not a reliable author! -hangs head in shame-**

**I honestly have no idea when I will be able to update next. I actually have to get my learners permit for driving next weekend. I know, I should have gotten that a year and a half ago. Like I said, lazy. If my mom wasn't making me get it, I probably still wouldn't. Plus, DMVs scare me! Maybe I should write a chapter about that...**

**Yes, I am piercing vicariously through Sasuke. Yes, I am just putting off the inevitable ending of this story. A few more chapters more, I think. Then I might make a sequel while they are in college. Would you guys like that?**

**God, I am going on and on again.**

**Oh, one more thing. Did anyone notice the title of the last chapter? I was so excited when I thought of it, and I don't even know if anyone noticed! Maybe you guys are too young, o well. It made me happy. I guess that's all that matters in the long-run. Okay okay, I'm shutting up! TBC, R&R, beg the authors of "Twisted" to update. -sigh- So...much...smex...**


	21. Once, There Was Love

**Sorry it took so long, disclaimers, shonen-ai, yadda yadda yadda enjoy!**

* * *

"Once upon a time, there was happiness." Neji looked at the computer screen in disgust. He was working on one of the essays he had missed during his long absence. The Hyuuga sighed, deleted the sentence, and leaned back in his chair. The topic was…ridiculous. That's what you get for taking academic English, he scolded himself. "Talk about a challenge in your life that you have had to overcome." He had thought about…his parents. But no. What would people say?

Fleetingly, Gaara's face floated through his mind. Neji smiled quietly and started writing.

"Once, there was love."

After a couple hours of work, the Hyuuga was almost finished so he decided to take a break and go out for a walk. However, his face was still slightly distorted from his "procedure," so Neji decided to go in disguise. Putting on a pair of large, dark shades (Hanabi had left them in his room) and a purple beanie over his long locks, he was slightly amused at his reflection. "I could pass for a girl," he chuckled to himself as he slid his hands delicately into his back jean pockets and made a pose for the mirror. It was still a little chilly out, so Neji grabbed a fitted, black sweater and pulled it gingerly over his head before leaving, careful to avoid his uncle, who wouldn't be happy about him leaving school work undone.

Almost by accident, Neji ended up by Temari's Place and decided to step inside for a look around. His muscles tensed slightly when he realized the only two people in the store were Gaara (at the register) and Sasuke, leaning casually over the counter. Luckily, it seemed the two were too distracted by their own heated discussion to hear the bell ring over the door, so the Hyuuga hid inconspicuously behind a clothing rack to eavesdrop.

* * *

Gaara stared intensely at the Uchiha when he had come to visit the redhead at work. He was forever worried about what would happen when people found out about their relationship, not for his own sake, but for Sasuke's. Gaara wanted Sasuke to be happy, to be accepted. And it seemed that the Uchiha had his own doubts about coming out, but they never really talked about the issue. It was almost taboo, but it was a secret that was becoming almost too heavy for either of them to bear, especially since they each had to do it alone. 

It was making the redhead sick inside. Why couldn't people just accept love for love? Granted, Gaara didn't know how people would react, but he was too scared to find out, to risk rejection. Temari and Itachi seemed comfortable with it, but that was only in teasing. How would they really feel? And all of their friends…I mean there were just so many uncertainties eating away at Gaara's conscience, and he suspected Sasuke felt the same way.

How much longer could they last like this?

"When…when are we going to tell people about us?" he'd asked the Uchiha meekly before looking away. Sasuke frowned a little before reaching his hand over to cup the redhead's chin gently.

"Whenever you're ready. We can tell people now if you want." Gaara looked at him sadly.

"No…I…don't." The redhead looked down at the counter, not able to meet Sasuke's curious eyes.

"That's okay." He pulled his hand away from Gaara to play absentmindedly with key chains in the display case. Someone came up to buy some wax, which broke the awkward silence that had settled between them. After the customer left, Sasuke looked back up at the redhead. "Why don't you want to?" he asked, in what he hoped was a supportive voice. Gaara didn't answer right away, and when he did, he still avoided the Uchiha's piercing gaze.

"I don't want you…to get hurt." Sasuke was slightly alarmed at Gaara's insecurity.

"I'm…not going to." The redhead looked up angry.

"Yes, yes you will!" he whispered harshly, only containing his voice because he'd noticed a woman hanging around the bathing suit rack nearby. Sasuke's face was concerned, which only made Gaara angrier. "Every time we go out, people make fun of us, even threaten us sometimes." The Uchiha listened quietly. "And you're always looking to fight them. I mean, what happens when we actually come out together?!"

Sasuke looked down awkwardly at the floor. "Gaara, I don't care what people think about us. I want to be with you," he added quickly, grabbing one of the redhead's clenched fists. Gaara pulled away.

"Then why do you always act angry when people ask?" the redhead hissed. Sasuke looked at him, surprised.

"Gaara, this is all new to me," he said slowly. "I mean, you didn't seem ready to come out, and now it's obvious that you aren't. I just…I was trying to act like a guy, who was being accused of…" he couldn't finish the sentence. Gaara looked at the Uchiha with eyes brimming with tears.

"I can't…" he started, but his voice cracked. "I can't do this anymore." Sasuke looked startled.

"What?!" Gaara didn't answer. "Look, we can…we can tell people. I promise, I won't fight anyone. I won't get hurt, Gaara!" His pleas were met only with silence. "Please," he begged as he bent his head down at the redhead's hands. "I…need you."

"No." Gaara's suddenly steady voice made Sasuke jump. "You need someone who you can actually be with. Someone who the rest of the world will accept." The Uchiha sobs vibrated through the counter, and Gaara struggled to stay calm. All he wanted to do was hug Sasuke, tell him everything would be okay. But he couldn't. This was for his own good.

Sasuke would realize that one day. He let the Uchiha cry for a few more minutes, but when he realized the woman was staring at them, Gaara leaned down and whispered soothingly, "Maybe you should go." This only made Sasuke cry harder, and it echoed through the store even after he'd left, reminding Gaara of what he had done.

"It was for his own good," Gaara thought he reassured himself inside his head, but he realized it was actually the woman, standing in front of the counter with a pair of men's swimming trunks in her hands. A small yelp escaped his mouth when he recognized the long hair and arrogant smirk of Hyuuga Neji.

"Ne…Neji?" he asked hesitantly before bursting out in uncharacteristic laughter. He was still a little hysterical after breaking up with Sasuke. Neji was taken aback by this sudden outbreak of amusement from what should have been a heartbroken boy. Maybe there was hope for him yet. "I…thought…you were…a girl," Gaara let out as he gasped desperately for air.

"Yes, well, I'm not," the Hyuuga said a little stiffly before allowing himself to smile. "Listen…I…know this is probably a rough time for you, but after your shift, do you maybe want to sleep over my house?" Gaara stopped laughing abruptly and gave him a suspicious glare. "Strictly platonically, of course," Neji added hastily. "I know I've…acted inappropriately in the past, and I want to make it up to you." The redhead gave a small nod, still shocked by the amiable nature of the once hostile Hyuuga. "Good, I'll come pick you up in a couple hours, I've got to go finish up some makeup work."

Without another word, he left quickly out the front door. Gaara picked up the trunks and put them back on the rack. He then walked over to the door and leaned his warm head onto the cool glass, watching curiously as Neji hiked towards the Hyuuga mansion. The redhead was curious about the Hyuuga's intentions, but regardless, he could really use a friend right now.

Gaara wiped a single tear off of his cheek and then went back to stand behind the counter, waiting patiently for his shift to be over as his mind drifted to things that he now knew he would never have again.

* * *

**-sniff- It's...so sad! Gah! I hate myself for doing this. It had to be done, though. I would say...I am almost done. Three, maybe four more chapters. Squeee! I'm sad by I'm excited all the same. It was kind of short, but it was dense. A lot happened. You know the deal. It took a while to update because...I'm lazy. But I really wanna finish before I graduate, so not much longer. There's only so much I can procrastinate with less than three months to go! Oh em gee!!!**


	22. How Are Your Crabs?

**Yay for one-week turnovers! Disclaimers, don't own Naruto, blah blah blah enjoy!**

* * *

"We haven't gone out like this in a while." Itachi smiled and reached across the table to grab Temari's hand.

"Well, I dunno. I felt like doing something special. We've been together for what…seven months now?"

"Ha, lucky number seven. We've upgraded since our first date."

"I'd have to agree with you on that one." The couple looked around them at the calm, romantic atmosphere of the restaurant. How different it was compared to the hustle and bustle of the local Wendy's. "I wouldn't start any food fights here, if I were you," the Uchiha added, pointing a scolding finger at Temari's outstretched foot, that he was certain was meant to trip up their waiter and start trouble. The blonde gave him a playful smirk and pulled her limb back underneath the table.

"How's your crab?" Itachi asked the waiter.

"Itachi! That's such a personal question! You barely know this person," cried Temari, with a look of shock on her face. The waiter, a young man who Itachi recognized as one of his brother's friends (Shika…something?), blushed and stammered.

"It's…uh…good?" he answered uncertainly. Temari nodded solemnly and looked down at her menu.

"I'll have…the cake." Itachi and the waiter both looked at her, surprised.

"You…don't want any dinner first?" the Uchiha asked curiously. Temari looked up at the waiter and winked.

"I'm in a…chocolate mood."

"Fine, I guess I'll have cake, too." They both handed their menus to the waiter. As he walked away, Itachi looked at the blonde.

"You can never make things easy, can you?" he asked, but his eyes were laughing. Temari chuckled.

"I want what I want, what can I say?" She grabbed his foot with her own and rocked it back and forth gently. For a while, they were quiet, staring at each other softly, waiting for their cake. When dessert was served, they dug in, making small talk and enjoying each other's company. People observing them smiled to themselves and thought, "What a wonderful, young couple."

Later that night, as they lay in each other's arms in Itachi's bed, the Uchiha seemed…uncertain of something. "Whatsamatta?" Temari asked peacefully as she snuggled into the crook of his neck. He hesitated in answering.

"I'm…having trouble with Sasuke again."

"Oh, this is romantic pillow-talk," she said playfully, propping her head up onto her hand to look at him.

"He...seems really down lately. He comes right home after school and stays in his room all the time. I hardly hear a peep out of there." He paused. "It's kind of creepy, actually. It's like I'm living by myself."

"Come to think of it, he hasn't been coming to work at all lately. I should probably fire him…" she added, zoning out into her own management thoughts.

"Has Gaara…said anything to you?" he interrupted. "I…know they're close."

"Actually, I haven't been seeing a lot of Gaara. He's been hanging out with that Hyuuga kid."

"Really? I thought they hated each other…" Itachi stopped suddenly when he heard a noise from a nearby room. "Sasuke's room," he whispered. Standing up quietly, the Uchiha slipped a robe on over his bare skin. Temari stood up, but she didn't cover herself. Itachi raised a questioning eyebrow but the blonde just shrugged.

"I like the breeze."

The two lovebirds snuck down the hallway towards Sasuke's door and pressed their ears against it. It was quiet for a few moments, but suddenly the silence was broken by a heartbreaking sob from behind the door. Itachi and Temari looked at each other, startled, but waited to hear what else would happen.

Sasuke continued to cry quietly in his sleep, and after a while, the two started to understand words that were being formed between whimpers. "Gaa…gaa…gaa…rah…" he croaked softly to himself. "Wah…why did you…you…you…" It sounded as though he was having trouble breathing. Itachi grew worried that Sasuke was going to make himself sick, so he nudged Temari back to bed and made his way silently through his brother's room to his side.

Gently, the older Uchiha sat down and began rubbing Sasuke's back. He remembered their mother doing this when either of them had had a nightmare. "It's okay, Sasuke," he cooed softly. "I'm here for you." It seemed that his brother was beginning to calm down. Time slowed to a stop as Itachi sat there, soothing Sasuke's broken heart. Maybe five minutes later, maybe five hours later, Temari peeked her head in.

"Are you coming back to bed?" Itachi's head bobbed back up. Must've dozed off, he thought to himself as he looked down at the sleeping form of his brother. Sasuke had stopped crying and was lying, immobile and quiet with his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Yeah," he answered in a hushed tone and got up gingerly as not to disturb Sasuke.

* * *

"Um…Hinata, don't you think you've had enough?"

"No way, man! No way!" Naruto gave the Hyuuga a worried look, but she just waved her hand at his face, as if that would ease his fears. "Don't be such a pussy, foxy!" she said, her words a little slurred. Hinata had called the blond over, but failed to mention that it was just to break into her father's wine cellar. Ever since…the abortion, she had been drinking more and more. It was always a little excessive, but now it's just too much, Naruto thought as he guided Hinata's wobbling form over to a chair.

The blond was never much of a drinker, only socially really. He didn't like drinking just to get drunk, and that was Hinata's problem. She wanted to forget, forget what they had done, forget…what she had given up.

"Um, what if your dad gets home? Won't you get in trouble?"

"Screw 'em!" she croaked loudly. It seemed that she was evolving into a vulgar rebel rather than the quiet, fun-loving teenager that Naruto had come to…care for…so much.

"I miss you, Hinata," Naruto whispered longingly to himself as he watched her rock back and forth in the chair. "What have I done to you?"

* * *

Just upstairs, another Hyuuga was also fighting for his love. "You are going down, Gaara!" Neji cried as he jerked his arm violently to the left, giving the on-screen version of his new, red-headed friend a black eye.

"No way!" Gaara protested as he tried to retaliate, but he ended up missing Neji entirely. The Hyuuga took advantage of this fatal error and clogged Gaara in the back.

"K-O!" Gaara fell back onto Neji's bed dramatically, admitting defeat.

"You know, I don't think I like this whole 'Nintendo Wii' thing," he said playfully. "Too much moving."

"What are you mumbling about? You're just mad I beat you five times in a row." He shoved the redhead playfully in the shoulder.

"No, seriously. Video games are supposed to be doing fun things without having to actually do them."

"We can go play…tennis or something," Neji offered. He was still overly-obliging in hopes to win Gaara's heart, even though they had been hanging out for weeks.

"It's okay," the redhead answered softly. "I kinda like just…sitting here."

"With me?" Neji couldn't help asking. There was a pause.

"Yeah. It's kinda nice. No pressure. No tension or anything. It's very…calm." Not like it was before, Gaara thought to himself. They sat in a pleasant silence for a while, but Neji began getting antsy.

"Wanna watch a movie?" he asked enthusiastically as he stood up quickly. The Hyuuga was a lot more hyper than he originally put on. Gaara looked up, a little surprised at his sudden energy.

"Uh, sure. Which one?"

"How about…A Nightmare Before Christmas?" Gaara cringed. Christmas…reminded him of Sasuke. That was exactly who he was trying to forget by hanging out with Neji. If he could forget and move on, surely Sasuke could. But the Hyuuga looked so excited (and he was actually almost adorable when he was excited), Gaara just couldn't say no.

"Sure."

Neji popped in the DVD and lied back down next to Gaara on his bed. He was sure to give the redhead plenty of room to make sure he stayed comfortable. But after a few minutes, Gaara actually scooted over a little closer to the Hyuuga and leaned his head on his shoulder. Neji grew tense but settled down when he heard the redhead's breathing slow down.

Is he…actually asleep? Neji asked himself, looking down at his dozing friend. "He…really does trust me," he said, smiling and turning back to the movie. It wasn't long before he, too had drifted off to sleep.

A couple hours later, Gaara's head slipped and fell forward into Neji's groin. The Hyuuga woke with a start, and his jolt stirred Gaara from his slumber.

"Um…" they both said awkwardly as they sat up. The movie was long over, and Neji noticed that it was dark outside.

"Hey, you wanna play tennis now?" the Hyuuga asked, eager to continue his time with Gaara.

"Now? It's dark out."

"The court has lights." Gaara nodded, even though he hadn't really ever played tennis. It couldn't hurt to try, right? Plus, it was cool that the Hyuugas had their own court. They wouldn't have to deal with…other people.

The two grabbed rackets and some balls and headed downstairs. But they both froze on the stairs when they saw a familiar blond in the kitchen. At hearing their footsteps, Naruto turned around and was startled to see not only Neji, but Gaara, standing very close to each other.

"Gaara…what are you doing here, with Neji?" They looked at each other, searching for an excuse.

"Uh," Neji stammered, breaking the silence, "We were…doing work for Latin and decided to take a brea…"

"No," Gaara interrupted. The redhead had made a decision. Just now. He was going to force Sasuke to move on, no matter what judgments people made about him and Neji. He already knew Neji didn't care. And quite frankly, he didn't care enough about the Hyuuga for his feelings to affect what he was about to do anyway. "Neji and I…are together now."

"What?!" Naruto and Neji shouted together.

"Yeah," Gaara continued in a daze. He then grabbed Neji's hand and walked out the door, leaving Naruto standing in the kitchen with his mouth wide open. But the blond soon remembered what he was doing and turned back to his work. Hinata's hangover wasn't going to cure itself…

* * *

**So, you know when you are crying so hard, and you start to say something, but you are so upset that you can't even finish the words? That is the most vulnerable feeling in the world...that I was trying to express through Sasuke. It makes me sad, doing this to him...**

**Anyway, I can almost smell the end of this story. It's crazy! And I got this chapter out pretty quickly, about a week, right? Yay! It's spring break, so I wouldn't even be surprised if I got another chapter out before the week is through. Only...two more. Yeah. I'm just going to make them a bit longer. It's gonna be pretty awesome. Yay! Okay I am going to bed. TBC, R&R and all that jazz.**


	23. I Love You

**Another one-week turn over, yay! Yaoi, blood (omg wha?!?), I don't own anything or anyone but that doesn't mean I can't kill them off! -evil laugh- Enjoy**

* * *

The news had spread like wildfire through the halls of Konoha High. It had started with gossip in lunch about two boys making out in the bathroom. Sakura was the one to tell Naruto and Sasuke, who were sitting silently, lost in their own thoughts. Neither had much of a reaction, but when she mentioned one of them supposedly had "red hair and a tattoo," the Uchiha looked down at his meatloaf sandwich with a frown.

Sakura stood quietly with her hands behind her back, staring at who used to be her best friends. Now, they were merely ghosts of their former selves. It's been like this for a while, she thought as she made her way back to her table with Ino. She wondered what had caused such a rift to grow between the three friends.

"I mean, every time I look over at their table, no one is talking or laughing. They're all just…staring into nothingness," she vented to Ino, who sat listening as she munched on her fries.

Later, the rumors were confirmed when Gaara moved his seat next to Neji's in Latin. Kiba and Sheeno reported it to two thirds of team seven in History afterwards.

"Now, you two are going to love him no matter what, right?" Kiba asked suspiciously as he sat down next to Naruto. "Gaara needs friends right now, it's going to be tough in these first few days coming out."

"Of course we'll still love him," the blond said, throwing on a toothy smile. "The question is, though, what about Sasuke?" The Uchiha rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, still in shock after hearing who Gaara was now "with." How could he go out with such a…prick?

"Hmm," Shino thought quietly before breaking out in his gruff voice. "Shikamaru has seemed pretty lonely lately…"

"I'm not gay you fucks!"

"Itachi told me that Shikamaru had crabs…" Naruto contemplated as he stroked an imaginary mustache.

"Why would Itachi know?" Sasuke asked, rolling his eyes again. "And when have you been talking to him anyway?"

"He has a screen name you know."

"I think I should report him to the police for trying to seduce minors," the Uchiha started, but choked on his own words when Gaara walked into the room, but not before he slipped Neji a little tongue in the hallway. Sasuke slumped down and hid his face behind his binder.

"Wow, that wasn't obvious," Naruto chortled quietly before growing more serious. "What's with you two? You've barely said a word to each other in weeks." The Uchiha didn't answer, but decided to stealthily change the subject.

"Shh, I'm gonna see if Asuma lets me take a nap." Naruto, Shino and Kiba gave each other knowing nods before settling down for class.

* * *

Gaara was worried about Sasuke. Every time he turned around, he caught the Uchiha looking at him wistfully. But how could Sasuke still love him after the redhead had moved on so quickly? Surely he had heard about him and Neji by now, it seemed all that anyone ever talked about. Surprisingly, there weren't any negative comments thrown their way. The redhead had a feeling he knew why.

Recently, they had gone to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and while they'd been standing in line for popcorn, holding hands, it looked like a group of seniors was about to make their way over and harass the couple. But Gaara had caught Neji running his finger threateningly over his throat in their direction. The Hyuuga had turned back towards Gaara with a kind smile on his face, as if nothing had happened. The redhead was a little disturbed by this violent behavior, but at least they could go out in public together.

Another time, a sophomore had called Gaara a "faggot" in the halls. Neji hadn't reacted at first, as if he knew it would have upset the redhead. But Gaara had heard later that the kid's car was missing. It turned up later in a junkyard with the words "sticks and stones" spray-painted onto its side in big, black letters.

When Gaara showed up at Temari's Place later that day, he was relieved to find his sister had given him the day off. To clear his head of both Sasuke's and Neji's strange behavior, he'd decided to go to the beach and do some surfing since it was finally warm enough. As the redhead rode a wave to shore, he reminded himself that surfing with all of these problems on his mind would take away from its relaxing nature.

When he was on the water, it was like Gaara was flying over the world, with nothing holding him down but a thin layer of gravity. "And we can work on that," he smiled to himself as he took a sip of Dr. Pepper before heading back out into the water. The redhead spent a couple more hours out in the warm sun before it started to set and he decided it was time he got home. As he walked back onto shore, he looked up and realized that Neji was sitting on the smooth, white sand that was an echo of his fair complexion. With his hands dug deep into it, the Hyuuga almost seemed to blend into the ground. "I didn't know you were watching me," Gaara said with surprise, plopping down next to Neji.

"You were beautiful out there," the Hyuuga replied, smiling proudly at Gaara. The redhead blushed slightly. He was still getting used to Neji's affectionate attitude. He was so different from when they had first met.

* * *

_"Nice to meet you Gaara. I was wondering if you would like to come to the movies with me tonight, it being Friday and all." By the look on the Hyuuga's face, Gaara could tell that this wasn't a question. Regardless of whether or not he actually wanted to go out with Neji (he didn't), he had already made plans with Sasuke and Naruto._

_"S-sorry, I can't, I've already got plans."_

_Neji's smile didn't falter, but his steely eyes became even colder than they were moments before. "It's because I'm a guy, right?" Gaara started walked sideways towards Kurenai's classroom. "A guy can't be attracted to another guy, is that it!"_

_The hallway was almost empty, and Gaara turned away from the Hyuuga and broke into a run. Right before he turned into the class, he heard Neji shout, "You will be mine, little Gaara! I always get what I want!"_

* * *

Gaara wondered what had brought in this change. Maybe when he'd fallen on his head…the redhead thought and laughed. Neji gave him a questioning look but just stood up and grabbed Gaara's hand to pull him up alongside him. "Wanna come over tonight? My family's going on some sort of 'family dinner' to try and get Hinata out of this little slump she's been in." The redhead looked down on the ground, knowing quite well that Hinata was not in a slump. She was just depressed about…the abortion.

Thinking of that reminded him of Sasuke again. Gaara gave Neji a sad smile and said, "Sure," before wrapping his arms around the Hyuuga's thin waist and giving him a small hug.

* * *

Someday, Sasuke will find someone who he can really love and be happy with, thought Gaara as he rested his head on Neji's shoulder. The two were sitting on a hill overlooking the town. It was near the Hyuuga estate, and from there, they could see everything for miles.

"I love looking at the stars," Neji confessed as he pulled Gaara down onto the cool grass for a better look. There was no moon, so the sky was particularly dark except for the few sparkling lights shining down on them. The orbs reflected in the Hyuuga's black hair as if it were a deep lake. Gaara just wanted to go swimming in it. He rolled over onto his side and rubbed his face into Neji's silken locks, taken a deep whiff of his scent. It smelled amazing. Safe. He would have been happy just staying like that forever.

"I love you," Gaara's voice came out muffled by the thick layer of hair his head was buried in, but Neji heard him loud and clear. Almost violently, the Hyuuga sat up, bringing the redhead with him.

"Really? Really Gaara?" he said in an excited tone. "Because I've felt that from the start. From the very start. Ever since I saw you in Latin all that time ago I've thought, 'I love him.' I really love you Gaara, so much. And I never want to be without you." Gaara's eyes were wide with shock. He hadn't expected Neji to react so exuberantly to those three little words. He wasn't even sure if he really meant them. That was just…how he felt at the moment.

To be honest…I was thinking of him. Of Sasuke. Your hair is just like his but more of it, Gaara thought guiltily. He had been caught up in the moment, but he just couldn't turn back now. With a little sigh that he hoped sounded like relief, the redhead leaned forward and caught Neji's lips in his own passionately. The Hyuuga massaged Gaara's lips with his tongue forcefully. The redhead moaned and leaned further into the kiss.

Neji pushed his hands up into Gaara's shirt and stroked his back suggestively. The redhead shifted so he was sitting in the Hyuuga's lap. He could already feel Neji's erection growing, and it rubbed roughly against his own. This time, it was Neji's turn to moan. In the back of his mind, Gaara wondered if this was going too far. He didn't really have to do this to get Sasuke to go out with someone else. But then the Hyuuga thrust up between his legs, and all thoughts of the Uchiha were thrown from his mind.

Untangling his tongue from Neji's Gaara trailed it down his chin left a trail of kisses down the Hyuuga's neck. At the same time, he took his hand and unzipped Neji's pants, releasing his throbbing member. Breaking his mouth away from Neji's neck, Gaara crawled out of the Hyuuga's lap and bent forward, engulfing his member in his mouth. It didn't taste quite like he'd imagined; Sasuke had always been the one who…

"Yeah," Gaara growled as he licked the tip of Neji's member. Even now, he could barely keep the Uchiha out of his thoughts. He drove his head back down, again covering the Hyuuga with his mouth. Neji let out a little cry of pleasure as his hands dug into the ground. Just…a little…more…

With a loud gasp, the Hyuuga came inside Gaara's mouth. It was too much for the redhead to handle and he spit it out next to them on the grass. But he turned back up to Neji and smiled before leaning up and planting a soft kiss on his quivering forehead.

For a while afterwards, they stayed like that. Neji stared off into space with his arm around the tiny redhead, who was curled up against his body. They kept each other warm. Maybe they weren't cures for each other's problems. Maybe they didn't fit together perfectly. Maybe, they didn't always tell the truth.

But for now, they were warm, and that was all they needed.

It must have been around two in the morning when Gaara remembered he had to open up Temari's place in the morning. "Better get going, then," Neji said as he grabbed the redhead's hand and pulled him gently back down the hill towards the Hyuuga mansion. "I'll just get my car and…" but Gaara cut him off.

"Can we walk?" Neji raised an eyebrow that the redhead couldn't see in the darkness. "I just think…it'd be fun to walk." Truth be told, Gaara didn't want his time with a Hyuuga to be so quick as a car ride. The Hyuuga rolled his eyes. The things I do for love, he sighed to himself as he agreed silently and began heading for the street.

* * *

"Be careful, Hinata," the blond started as he stared at the Hyuuga, who was driving drunkenly across the narrow road. She had shown up at Naruto's apartment building, wasted and mumbling something about avoiding her father. Not wanting to leave her to drive home alone, he had agreed to come with her back to the Hyuuga estate. He was now regretting that he was too young to drive.

"Listen, I know it's been hard on you ever since the…" but he was silences by a violent change in directions as Hinata drove wildly around the now quiet streets of Konoha. It was dark out, it had to be about two. There was not a soul to be seen out this late. And it's probably safer that way, Naruto thought as Hinata made another wobbly turn.

"Hinata, watch out!" Naruto cried as two figures wandered onto the open road. The Hyuuga panicked and swerved her car violently to the left. With a screech and a loud "thump" everything grew eerily quiet.

After a few moments of silence, Hinata cried out, "I think I hit something!"

"Or someone," Naruto whispered as he peered over onto the black pavement. In the light of the headlights, he could see a small line of blood trailing from underneath the car...

* * *

**GASP! The biggest cliffhanger of the story! I have to be honest, at least one person is not surviving this story. I'd like to know who you think should be off'd! Yeah, YOU! Sitting at your computer. Not that it will change the story, because I've had this planned for months. But I think it would just be interesting to find out. There is only One. More. Chapter.**

**Intrigue! TBC, R&R, you know the drill. See you soon!**


	24. I Dreamed I Was Dying

**Okay so the main reason I decided to update…or Omigosh…conclude! today was because I had 11,111 hits. That's gotta count for something. Most of this chapter is based off the song (Calendar Girl), so pay attention to the lyrics if for no other reason than they are awesomely by Stars. So enjoy!**

* * *

_"Hinata, watch out!" Naruto cried as two figures wandered onto the open road. The Hyuuga panicked and swerved her car violently to the left. With a screech and a loud "thump" everything grew eerily quiet._

_After a few moments of silence, Hinata cried out, "I think I hit something!"_

_"Or someone," Naruto whispered as he peered over onto the black pavement. In the light of the headlights, he could see a small line of blood trailing from underneath the car..._

* * *

"Ne…Neji?" Gaara whimpered as he threw himself onto the ground to look under the car. The Hyuuga's body was sprawled awkwardly across the now blood-spattered road. His long, dark hair was covering most of his face, and he wasn't moving at all. As the redhead stared at Neji, waiting for something to happen, he vaguely heard two car doors slamming and the pitter-patter of running footsteps towards his huddling body.

"Gaara, Gaara! Are you okay?" he thought he heard Naruto say, but it was as though he were underwater. Everything was still and quiet despite the chaotic scene that was quickly engulfing him. "Hinata! Call an ambulance or something! Someone is trapped under the car!" Gaara never broke his gaze from the body of his broken Hyuuga.

A few moments passed as the teens waited eagerly for someone to come and help them.

* * *

_So much like children…

* * *

_

A sudden breeze swept over the road and under the car. To Gaara's horror, Neji's hair was lifted from his face to reveal a head that was almost completely twisted backwards. His neck was broken.

Blank, white, unblinking eyes stared back at Gaara. It seemed as though the wind was translating those eyes for the redhead. " Why did this happen to me?" or "Is this real?" Gaara even thought he heard whispers of, "Why don't you love me?"

* * *

_"Look what you did now, you little shit!"

* * *

_

It was too much for him to handle. With a yelp, as if he had been hit by a sudden, invisible force, Gaara stood up and started running in the general direction of his home. He ignored the cries of protest from Naruto as tears rolled down his face, almost blinding him in the darkness of the night.

* * *

_I dreamed I was dying; as I so often do  
And when I awoke I was sure it was true_

As the redhead burst through the door of his apartment, he heard the radio playing in the kitchen and quickly realized that he was completely and utterly alone. Temari always left some music playing when she left the house so it didn't feel so empty, and as Stars played in the distance, Gaara felt as though it was crushing him more than any silence could. It was only a reminder of who he would be leaving behind.

_I ran to the window; threw my head to the sky  
And said whoever is up there, please don't let me die_

Gaara stumbled desperately into the bathroom and opened the cabinet door. A small bottle of sleeping pills stood lone on the shelf. He knew Kankuro used them sometimes when he was having one of his nightmares. Popping the cap off the top, he downed the entire half-empty container in one overwhelming mouthful.

_But I can't live forever, I can't always breathe  
One day I'll be sand on a beach by a sea_

As he began getting dizzy, the redhead made his way to his bedroom to lie down. He thought about Neji, someone who had given everything up for the redhead, eventually even his life.

* * *

_"Gaara, watch out!" Neji cried when he saw the headlights coming straight at them. With a push that the Hyuuga guiltily realized probably knocked the air out of the little redhead, he sent Gaara flying off the road. As he felt the impact of the car, his last thoughts were, "I hope Gaara is alright."_

* * *

No one would have to sacrifice anything for him again.

_The pages keep turning, I'll mark off each day with a cross  
And I'll laugh about all that we've lost_

Lying down onto his soft comforter, Gaara looked towards his nightstand at a picture of his very pregnant mother on a beach. Her pearly smile shone in the sun.

He wondered dimly why he couldn't have that happiness, and as the walls of his room began fading into blackness, he hoped that his death would give Sasuke a chance to smile like that.

* * *

**Okay, so...that's it. No more Shake it Up. Before anyone starts yelling at me, THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL! It won't be for a while though, probably not until I'm up at college. Isn't that exciting? College! SUNY Brockport, come hang out with me. God knows I will probably need all the friends I can get.**

**Anyway, back to the story. There are many things that I have intentionally left hanging that WILL BE ANSWERED IN THE SEQUEL! Like, for instance, Sasuke. Where is he? The sequel will probably be more from his point of view, which is how this story started out, but you know. A couple years passed. Years. Holy crap. This story has spanned almost my entire high school career. I've like...grown up a lot I think. Much like the characters.**

**Other questions that still have to be answered: How will Hinata react to killing her cousin? (Yes, he is dead, so don't review asking me if he's in a coma or paralyzed or something.) Will Naruto be able to support her after this? Will Kakashi ever tell Naruto the truth? What's happening with Temari and Itachi? (A great crack pairing, btw, probably my favorite in the whole story.) What's happening with Sakura and Lee? Kiba and Shino? Ino and Chouji? Where are TenTen and Shikamaru in the story? What role will Hanabi play in all this? (Yes, she will be playing a role, she is my favorite character in the entire anime, I of course must make her a more central player!) Will Itachi ever tell Sasuke the truth?**

**Two bonus spoiler questions: Will Gaara ever come to terms with his father's death? and will Gaara and Sasuke every be together again?**

**So, with all of this in mind, R&R! This is your last chance for the entire story. Tell me how much you hate me, love me. What you liked that happened. What you think should have happened. What you think/want TO HAPPEN IN THE SEQUEL. I love you all so much for your support. Thank you for reading my story, and I look forward to hearing from you again IN THE SEQUEL.**


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